


We Are What We Pretend To Be

by tricia_16



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Dean, Clueless Dean Winchester, Communication, Dean and Cas Are Co-Workers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gay Sex, Inevitable Misunderstanding, Jealous Castiel, M/M, Needy Bottom Dean Winchester, Rimming, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-17 04:09:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15453036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricia_16/pseuds/tricia_16
Summary: When Dean can't get his co-worker to take a hint and leave him alone after a romp in the back seat of his car, his best friend Castiel steps in and pretends like the two of them are dating to get her off his back. Unfortunately, what was meant to be a secret between the three of them quickly spreads to their boss, and then the office, and then the entire city... and they really have no choice but to continue to go along with it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The "pretend boyfriend" thing has always been my favorite trope, and when I finally came up with this idea, I jumped on it and started writing right away. I haven't written this much this quickly since NJAONS. I am SO into this!!
> 
> I am working with a new beta this time around, so please give all the love to [Eliza](https://twitter.com/The_Cake_Wench) for helping me out this time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [](https://i.imgur.com/fEfoG7Sl.jpg)
> 
>   
>    
> 

“Hi, Dean.”

Dean closes his eyes and barely suppresses the urge to groan loudly. Instead, he pastes an incredibly fake smile on his face and turns to face his co-worker, Anna.

“Morning,” Dean answers, immediately turning back to face his computer monitor in an attempt to cut the conversation short.

“How was your weekend?” Anna asks.

“Good.”

“Good!” Anna responds enthusiastically, clearly not picking up on his disinterested tone of voice. “Hey, so I was wondering if you might be free for dinner one night this week?”

Dean’s focus stays resolutely on his screen, though he gives into an eye roll since Anna can’t see. “Sorry, I have plans.”

“All week?” Anna checks.

“Yep,” Dean replies. He’s sure he can hear muffled laughter from the cubicle next to him and has to concentrate to make sure he doesn’t join in. 

“Oh. Well maybe some other time then. Have a good day, Dean.”

“Yeah, you too,” Dean responds.

He watches Anna’s reflection disappear in his computer monitor until she’s back inside her office, then wheels his chair over to the side at the same time his best friend does so they can look at each other around the partition separating their work stations.

“You’re a dick for laughing,” Dean tells him.

Castiel’s grin is wide and unapologetic. “You know what they say: you are what you eat.” Dean snorts with laughter, shaking his head at his friend with amusement. “You know, I’m starting to get the feeling that being polite to her isn’t going to work.”

“Wow, Cas, that’s brand new information,” Dean says sarcastically. “But what else am I supposed to do? Her dad’s the friggin' boss.”

“Maybe not fucking the boss’s daughter in the backseat of your car would’ve been a good place to start?” Castiel says in a whisper.

“Believe me, if I could go back...” Dean lets the rest of the sentence trail off into silence.

He was originally hired as a temp worker at the advertising firm Cas works at for just a few weeks because a woman at the office was about to go on maternity leave. He didn’t think it mattered if he fucked the boss’s daughter since he wasn’t gonna hang around anyway. Then the woman decided to stay home with her baby instead of coming back to work, and since he had six weeks under his belt already, they offered him the position. Dean had never had a steady job at one place before, and with the pay and benefits they were offering him, he jumped at the chance.

Now it's been two damn months since he fucked Anna, and she's still asking him out several times a week. No matter how many times he shoots her down, she just never lets up for more than a day or two.

Castiel clears his throat and rolls away, and that's enough to let him know somebody important is coming down the hall from behind him, so he gets back to work. The morning speeds by quickly enough, and pretty soon it's time for him and Cas to take off for lunch.

“What do you want to eat?” Castiel asks him.

“Burger,” Dean says quickly.

“You _always_ want a burger,” Castiel complains.

“And you still ask me every day.”

They walk the few blocks to the small diner they frequent a few times a week and slide into a booth. Dean scoffs when Cas opens the menu. “Don’t you have that memorized by now?”

“I want to try something different,” Castiel tells him.

“I’ll order for you,” Dean offers, snatching the menu from Castiel’s hands.

“Fine,” he sighs, resigned to his fate.

“Afternoon, boys,” their waitress says as she approaches the table. “Can I get yas something to drink to start off?”

“Two Pepsis,” Dean says, ordering for both of them.

“Please,” Castiel adds with a significant look aimed at Dean.

“The please was implied,” Dean says.

“As long as the tip ain’t implied,” the waitress jokes, and they both laugh.

“We’re actually good to order, too, if that’s okay. Gotta try to make it back in an hour.”

“I’m ready when you are. What’ll it be?”

“Two bacon cheeseburgers -”

“Dean,” Cas says unhappily.

“You said I could order for you!” Dean reminds him.

“I also said I wanted something different!”

“Well if you’d shut your trap for five seconds you would’ve heard that I wasn’t done ordering yet!” Castiel presses his lips together and raises his eyebrows at him. Dean looks back up at the waitress, seeing the way she’s barely holding in her laughter, and finishes with a broad smile. “Both with extra cheese and extra bacon. With cheese fries.”

“I’m guessing the heart attack comes on the side?” Castiel asks dryly.

“As long as you take it with you to go,” the waitress laughs.

“You’re welcome,” Dean says to Castiel with a teasing smile as he hands the menus back to the waitress.

“I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“My guess is it’s somethin’ to do with those lips of his,” the waitress says with a wink. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

Both Dean and Cas look after her with confusion. “What the hell do your lips have to do with anything?” Castiel asks.

“Well, not to toot my own horn or anything, but they are pretty amazing.”

Cas huffs with laughter. “No wonder Anna can’t leave you alone.”

Dean groans at the reminder and sinks down until he bangs his head on the table. “Why’d you have to bring that up again?”

“Because you really have to do something about this.”

“I’m just gonna tell her that _you_ like her when she asks me out again,” Dean threatens.

“Good luck with that. I know she’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even she couldn’t miss the gay pride flag on my desk.” Dean snorts. “And if she did, I’m pretty sure, ‘Sorry I’m gay,’ would be enough to get her to give up.”

“For the first time in my life, I’m wishing I wasn’t into guys _and_ girls, then I could steal your excuse.”

“It’s good to be me,” Castiel agrees with a smile.

The waitress appears with their drinks and sets them on the table in front of them.

“I hate you so much,” Dean says to Cas.

“Aw, trouble in paradise, boys?” the waitress questions.

“Huh?” Dean asks.

“You’re usually so cute when you’re in here together. Don’t get me wrong, the bickering is adorable too - like an old married couple - but you usually look at each other with these big ole heart eyes.” She places her hand to her heart and sighs dramatically before her face falls. “You didn’t break up, did you?”

Before Dean can open his mouth to respond, Castiel says, “No, we didn’t break up. Dean’s just having a bad day that’s bringing us both down a little, I guess.”

Dean starts to ask what the hell he's talking about, but his mouth remains hanging open when Castiel reaches over and covers his hand with his own. Nerves twist in his stomach and his cheeks heat up before he can even think about why he’s acting like he’s thirteen and holding hands with a girl for the first time all over again.

“Sorry, babe,” Castiel continues, his eyes shining with amusement. “I should be trying to cheer you up instead of giving you hard time.”

“Aw, see. That’s better,” the waitress smiles. “Won’t be long for your food.”

Before Dean can ask Cas what the hell's gotten into him, he hears, “Dean?” and turns to see Anna standing behind him. He goes to pull his hand away from Cas’s before she can see, but Cas’s fingers tighten on the back of his hand and he clears his throat, so Dean follows his cue and leaves his hand where it is.

“Are... are you and Castiel...?” she asks, looking between them.

Everything clicks into place and relief washes through him when he finally understands what Cas is doing.

“Uh, yeah. Kinda,” he answers, looking over at Cas for guidance. Cas smiles at him encouragingly and he figures he's on the right track.

“How embarrassing.” Her face floods with color while she tucks her red hair behind her ear. “I wish you would have just told me.”

“It’s uh, kinda new.” _Like ten seconds ago._

“And with working together, we weren’t sure what the rules were about us dating,” Cas adds.

“You won’t tell anybody, will you?” Dean asks, playing along. "Don't really wanna put pressure on a new thing, y'know?"

“No, of course not,” Anna says quickly. “I’m, um, happy for you both. I’ll see you back at work.”

“Later,” Dean says, and then once she’s sitting across the restaurant where she can no longer see them, he squeezes Castiel’s hand once before he lets it go. “You brilliant son of a bitch!” he whispers excitedly.

Cas chuckles, his eyes lit with amusement. “I know - I’m a genius!”

“Now she’ll stop asking me out _and_ I didn’t piss her off, so her dad shouldn’t fire me! I actually got outta this scot-free!”

“Other than buying my lunch,” Cas says, and Dean grins.

“Fuckin’ worth it.”

Once they’ve eaten their meals and both managed to avoid the heart attacks (at least for the time being), they head back to work. He’s in the can with his phone in his hand when a text comes through from Cas. 

 

 **CAS:** We just got an email from Chuck.

 **DEAN:** We? Who else?

 **CAS:** Just us. Said he wants to see us in his office in twenty minutes...

 **DEAN:**  wtf Anna! So much for not telling anybody!!! 

 **DEAN:** You don’t think...?

 **CAS:** That he’s going to fire us both because you fucked his daughter and are now dating somebody else from the same office? Yeah. I kinda do.

 **DEAN:** Fuck.

 **DEAN:** I’ll tell him we lied. I’ll get you off the hook. I’m not taking you down with me.

 **CAS:** I don’t even know if that will work. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

 **DEAN:** It’s gonna be okay. I’m not gonna let you lose your job, Cas.

 **CAS:** I guess we’ll see in twenty minutes.

 **DEAN:** Trust me.

 **CAS:**  Yeah, yeah.

 

And so, twenty minutes later, he and Cas walk into Chuck’s office with sweaty palms and red faces.

“Hey guys! Come on in, take a seat,” Chuck says, and Dean exchanges a surprised look with Cas when he hears how happy Chuck sounds. He doesn’t sound like he’s about to fire two employees. “I know you’ve probably guessed what you’ve been called in here about today, but I just want you to relax so we can talk openly. There are no rules forbidding private relationships between employees in this office, so just take it easy, okay?”

“You’re not going to fire us?” Cas blurts.

“Of course I’m not going to fire you!” Chuck exclaims. “Castiel, you’ve been a valued employee here for almost four years. We never want to lose you, and especially not over something like this. I just wanted to lay some ground rules, that’s all.”

So they sit awkwardly through ten minutes of Chuck asking them not to be affectionate at work - no hand holding, no kissing, no inappropriate emails - and why it’s important to remain professional at all times. He goes on and on about how it has nothing to do with the fact that they’re a same sex couple, and the rules are the same right across the board for everybody and blah, blah, blah. Just when Dean thinks he’s finally finished, he throws them a curve ball.

“Now, there’s just one other thing. Are you familiar with Charlie Bradbury?” he asks them.

“Yeah, of course,” Dean answers. Charlie’s their age, but a billionaire because of some fancy computer program she created - and she’s also one of the most outspoken LGBTQ+ allies in the country.

“She hired us to advertise her newest product -”

“Holy shit,” Dean comments before he can stop himself.

Thankfully, Chuck laughs. “That’s pretty much what I said, too. Anyway, she specifically said she wanted people within the gay community to work on the project if we had any, and so I was hoping the two of you might be free Wednesday evening to join us for an introductory dinner?”

“With Charlie Bradbury?” Castiel asks, clearly gobsmacked.

“That’s right.”

“Uh -”

“Of course, the ground rules we just went over aren’t applicable at functions outside of work. While we’d obviously prefer you to remain professional, holding hands or showing affection towards one another isn’t discouraged in public,” Chuck tells them. “In fact, Charlie would probably encourage it.”

“Oh, well -” Dean starts again.

“We’d love to attend. It’s really exciting that you even thought of us,” Castiel says for both of them. Huh. Apparently he’s going to have dinner with his fake boyfriend and Charlie Bradbury.

“Is there anything we need to know about the product before we go?” Dean asks. If he's getting roped into this, he might as well get all the information he can to prepare.

“She hasn’t even told us what it is yet,” Chuck says with a laugh. “So you know almost everything I do.”

“What’s the dress code for this thing looking like?” Dean checks.

“Sci-Fi Black Tie,” Chuck says.

Dean frowns. “What? Is that even a thing?”

Chuck laughs and pulls out an invitation. It’s plain white with bold black text. The dress code says, _Sci-Fi Black Tie:_ _Let Your Geek Flag Fly_ _._

“Sounds like she wants us to wear geeky ties with our fancy clothes,” Dean comments.

“That’s my take, too,” Chuck agrees.

Dean grins at Cas. They’ve so got this.

“And you thought you’d never use the Star Wars tie I got you for Christmas,” Cas says quietly as they make their way back to their desks.

“You’re seriously my favorite person right now,” Dean responds.

“Aw,” they hear from beside them.

They both pause right beside Dean’s desk and turn to see Lisa, another co-worker, smiling warmly at the two of them.

“I just heard. And I’m going on the record now saying that I always thought you guys were super adorable together,” she comments.

Dean has no idea how this never occurred to him until now, but it’s this moment when he realizes just how screwed they really are. They didn’t think this all the way through. They decided to pretend to be together on a whim to get rid of Anna, thinking that they could just keep it between the three of them, but now Chuck knows... and apparently the rest of the office does, too. _Shit._ He didn't think about how he'd have to act with Cas in front of everybody else because he didn't think they'd have to put on a show eight hours a day while at work. 

Maybe Cas is thinking the same thing, because he lays his hand on Dean’s lower back, and Dean can feel his cheeks heat again. He and Cas spend a ton of time together, but neither of them have ever been touchy-feely like this with each other before, and it’s going to take some time to get used to.

Time they don’t have.

“Thank you. I always thought so too,” Cas says with a wink.

Lisa giggles and walks back to her desk. Dean looks at Castiel with eyes wide with panic and mouths a silent, _Shit._

Castiel nods and mouths back, _Relax. Later._

Dean nods, then takes his seat when Castiel continues walking to his desk. They are so, so fucked. 

 

* * *

 

“This is the dumbest shit we’ve ever pulled!” Dean exclaims, flipping onto Castiel’s couch heavily.

“It’s definitely up there," Castiel agrees. "But remember that time I faked an accent to try to score us free drinks from that Russian hockey team at the bar? Then they all randomly started singing the national anthem and I froze because I didn’t know the words?”

Dean laughs at the memory while Cas settles into the seat beside him. “That was pretty dumb. Thought we were gonna get our asses kicked.”

“Probably would’ve if we didn’t run for it,” Castiel reminds him, causing Dean to laugh again. And yeah, the story did help him to calm down some, which was probably the entire point of Cas telling it. He takes a deep breath.

“Maybe we should just tell everybody that we broke up and it didn’t work out,” Dean suggests.

“We can do that if you want. But you know Anna’s just going to swoop right back in,” Castiel says. “And I kinda got the feeling that Chuck wants us to be together for the dinner on Wednesday.”

Dean nods, having thought the same thing. “It’s like we’re the token gay couple he wants to use to score points with Charlie.”

“Which is a douchy thing to do, but not something I’m in the position to turn down career-wise. And if Charlie really did ask for the gay community to be included, we do fit the bill, fake dating or not.”

“So we’re actually gonna go through with this?” Dean checks.

“You know I’d never ask you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable,” Castiel says gently.

“It’s not uncomfortable exactly,” Dean hedges. It’s just _different._ “But you know we’re gonna have to do more than hold hands.”

“We might have to kiss, but it’s not like we’re going to have to trade bathroom blow jobs,” Castiel assures him.

“And you’re okay with that?” Castiel tilts his head in confusion and Dean laughs. “The kissing part, not bathroom blow jobs, asshole.”

Cas shrugs. “It’s not as if I’ve never thought about kissing you.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Dean blinks, sure he must have heard him wrong.

“You’re an incredibly attractive man, Dean. I’m not blind!”

“But - but you never said anything! We’re best friends!”

“Which is _why_ I never said anything,” Castiel answers. “Besides, it’s pretty obvious you weren’t thinking the same thing about me, and I really can’t complain anyway. I enjoy having you as a friend.”

“An _incredibly attractive_ friend,” Dean corrects boastingly, causing Castiel to roll his eyes. “And listen. I uh, I definitely thought you were hot, too. When we first met three years ago, I mean. I only talked to you in the first place to try to bring you home,” Dean admits for the first time.

“Yeah right,” Castiel scoffs.

“I’m serious! But then I saw you were with that twink so I figured I never had a shot, and by the time you guys broke up we were already smack dab in the middle of the friend zone, so I just let it go.”

“Okaaay,” Castiel says, dragging the word out. He shakes his head as if to clear it and then says, “So you’re saying it shouldn’t be a problem for us to kiss, then, since you’re not repulsed by me?”

“Can’t believe you even thought that,” Dean says in disbelief.

“Do you think kissing would mess things up between us, though?” Castiel asks. “Our friendship? I don’t want it to be awkward and lose what we have. You're fun to hang out with.”

“Nah,” Dean decides. “I’ve kissed tons of people I didn’t even like and it was fine afterwards.” Cas gives him an unamused look and Dean chuckles. “You know what I meant.”

“You know you’re going to have to be nice to me around other people for them to believe we’re dating, right?”

“Shut up, I’m always nice to you.”

“You’re really not. Most of the time you’re kind of an asshole.”

Dean’s jaw drops in indignation. “I am not an asshole!”

“I know you don’t mean to be. It’s just kind of your default setting.”

“Wow,” Dean huffs in disbelief. He’s actually kinda hurt by that. “My best friend thinks I’m an asshole.”

 _“But_ I’m still your best friend anyway. I like you better than anybody else even if you’re a little rough around the edges,” Castiel says more softly.

“Little late to spare my feelings here, Cas,” Dean says honestly.

“I’m sorry, Dean. I didn’t mean -”

“Don’t worry about it.” Dean’s voice is gruff and he knows pretending not to be bothered by all of this is ridiculous when it's obvious that he is, but he does it anyway. “Should we order something in to eat?”

Castiel’s eyes are sad, but Dean ignores that, too. “After the lunch we had, I’d prefer something with a lot less grease. How do you feel about subs? I bought buns yesterday.”

“Yeah, alright. Go make me a sandwich, bitch.” Castiel smiles, but it’s a tight smile, and awareness suddenly spikes inside of him. “It’s shit like that, isn’t it?” he asks.

Castiel gives him another sad smile and half a shrug before he walks into the kitchen.

Over the next day, Dean thinks a lot about what Cas said. If you don’t count his brother Sam, Cas is literally the closest friend he has. He still can’t believe he thinks he’s an asshole. It’s already affected him enough that he’s tried to make some changes. For example, he showed up at work Tuesday morning with a coffee for Cas and got a soft smile in return that made him feel really good about making the effort. His co-workers made comments about how he was whipped already, and he blushed again, probably because it actually is a little true. He really does want to be a better friend for Cas. Cas is doing all this for him and getting absolutely nothing in return, and he deserves it.

They have dinner together again Tuesday night and Dean brings up the other thing he’d been thinking about once they’re done eating and back in front of the TV.

“Hey, uh, did you notice that I’m a little jumpy whenever you touch me at work?” Dean asks.

“I did,” Castiel responds. “Figured you were just a little nervous.”

“Thing is - I’m not real big on the touchy-feely stuff, even when I'm dating somebody for real.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Castiel says immediately. “I’ve never really seen you actually date somebody, so I had no idea. If I was making you uncomfortable -”

“It’s not exactly that,” Dean says. “It doesn’t bother me, mostly ‘cause it’s you, y’know? I’m used to you already. But it’s like you always catch me off guard. I don’t know how to act.”

“You don’t know how to act when I show you affection?” Castiel repeats. “Because of the fake dating thing?”

“No. Nobody’s ever really been like that with me before.” Castiel’s eyes go impossibly soft and all sad and Dean looks away immediately. “Don’t fucking look at me like that. I don’t want a pity party, okay?”

“I’m not pitying you,” Castiel says firmly. “I’m just sad that you don’t know what it’s like to share that kind of a connection with somebody. With the right person, holding hands or even just letting your knees bump together can be incredibly comforting.”

“Yeah, maybe if I stop jumping away every time,” Dean quips, trying not to make this a thing.

“Hopefully,” Castiel smiles. “Why did you bring it up?”

“Well, I dunno. I guess I was kinda thinking that it’s gonna look bad if I act like that tomorrow in front of everybody.”

Castiel nods slowly, finally understanding. “Suggestions?”

“I got nothin’. I figure I just gotta get used to it.”

“Hm,” Castiel says. A few seconds later, he scoots closer until their shoulders and thighs are pressed together. Dean really wishes he could make himself not blush every time Cas does something like this, but he has no control over the way heat rushes to his face. “We could practice if you want.”

“Practice showing affection?”

“Would that be weird for you? You’re obviously embarrassed.”

“I’m not _embarrassed,”_ Dean insists.

“Dean, your cheeks are red,” Cas points out, but not unkindly.

“It’s just - different. Gimme a break.”

“Do you want some space?”

Now that he thinks about it, the warmth coming from Castiel’s body is kinda nice. If it wasn’t for the way he can feel his cheeks flaming, he might not mind this at all. He’s so used to feeling claustrophobic or squirmy whenever anybody’s this close to him that he never really considered that if he knew the person a little better it might not be that bad.

“No. Let’s just watch TV for a bit like this and see if I can deal.”

“Let me know if you want me to move back over. I won’t mind, and I promise I won’t be insulted,” Castiel says again.

Dean swallows hard and looks back at the TV. Was Cas always this nice? Sitting with him has definitely never felt this nice, he decides some time later. Once he manages to relax, it’s almost like the warmth from Cas’s body has seeped from the outside of Dean's body to the inside. He feels good - really good, if he’s being honest with himself. Cas's body is actually sorta snuggly (not that he'd ever tell him that).

“Your cheeks aren’t red anymore,” Castiel comments some time later.

“Yeah, guess I can get used to it after all.”

“Do you think you'll get all jumpy the first time I kiss you?” Castiel asks.

Dean’s eyebrows shoot up. “Why’re _you_ kissing _me?”_

“You just said -”

“Dude. It’s this fluffy shit that freaks me out a little. Kissing I can do.”

Castiel knocks their shoulders together playfully. “I guess we’ll see about that.”

Dean grins before a thought occurs to him. “Shit. We’re probably gonna kiss for the first time in front of a bunch of people.”

“You afraid your skills won’t hold up in public?” Cas teases again.

“Ha ha," Dean says dryly. "No. I’m afraid I’m gonna make your knees so weak you fall all over me.”

“Thankfully you’re bigger than me.”

“Barely,” Dean snorts. “Seriously, though. Think people are gonna be able to tell?”

Castiel shrugs. “Unless you’re suggesting we practice kissing beforehand too, I don’t know what difference it would make.”

Dean’s eyes go a little wide, because he really hadn’t been suggesting that. But it’s not a terrible idea. “That ain’t the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”

“What, really?”

“I mean, it’d be better than doin’ it in front of a bunch of people. Least this way I’ll know what I’m dealing with going in.”

“So what - you want to kiss me right now?” Castiel questions.

Dean’s cheeks burn again at the question and he really fucking hates it. “I’m not dying to kiss you or anything, but yeah. I think it’d be smart.”

“Alright,” Castiel says with a nod, sitting up a little straighter. “Let’s do this.”

“Anxious, are we?” Dean teases.

“I have to see if your lips really are worth putting up with you for,” Cas teases right back.

Dean laughs, feeling some of his nerves evaporate.

“Kay, so how do you -”

But that’s all he gets out, because the next thing he knows, Cas is leaning in. Dean barely has time to wet his lips in preparation before Cas’s hand is on the back of his neck and he’s slotting their lips together. Cas’s hand is firm, taking control of his position while their lips press together and relocate a few times. His hand closest to Cas falls on his knee and he holds on for dear life while Cas angles his head to the side in order to find the sweet spot, and then - _shit_ \- it’s surprisingly good. Good enough that Dean lets his lips cling a little longer and with more pressure, and when Cas’s lips urge his open, Dean goes with it. The kiss is wetter now, and Cas surprises him enough when he sucks his bottom lip between his for a split second that his breath hitches and Castiel’s fingers tighten on the back of his neck.

The anticipation of how good it’s going to be when he _really_ gets to kiss him has arousal curling low in his stomach. Following his gut, his tongue darts out to find Castiel’s. They only just touch at the tips, sending a soft buzz of pleasure through him, before Cas retreats. He fights back his frustration when he realizes he was denied the chance to learn what Cas tastes like, but Cas was probably right to stop it there. He definitely would’ve kept going and tried to deepen it even further, and there’s a good chance that could’ve gotten embarrassing real fast considering how good that already was. Cas kisses him chastely once more before he ends the kiss entirely, and then both of them are looking at each other with too-wide eyes, breathing way too hard.

Maybe his head ain’t on completely straight, but he’d swear that Cas is looking at him kinda funny. He definitely _looks_ different. His lips are wet, his usually bright blue eyes seem a little darker, and Dean’s not the only one with a pink hue to his cheeks now. He sees a flicker of something flash in Castiel’s eyes before he blinks it away and buries his hand in his dark hair in a nervous gesture Dean’s seen him do a thousand times.

He made Cas nervous?

“That wasn’t so bad,” Cas comments, decidedly not looking at him.

“Definitely not the worst kiss I’ve had,” Dean agrees. “Was easy, actually.”

“Almost a little too easy not to get carried away,” Castiel admits, smiling shyly as he meets his eyes again. “I guess it’s been a while.”

“Well, you sure as hell aren’t rusty, if that’s what you were getting at.” Then he hears what just came out of his mouth and now it's his turn to look away. Shit. He kinda liked kissing Cas, didn’t he? He _really_ likes seeing him with the flush on his face that _he_ put there. He looks good this way. He’d probably look even better if he got him really worked up and the flush spread down his neck to his chest, he imagines. Hell, it’d been surprisingly hot when Cas just took control of the kiss the way he did, too. Not that he’d thought about Cas in that way in a while, but if he had, he wouldn’t have guessed that Cas would be so confident when it came to sexual stuff. A dude knowing his way around the bedroom is definitely one of his buttons, and Cas hit it like a bulls eye.

“Dean?”

Dean turns back to Cas with a start. “Yeah?”

“I only said your name three times,” Cas says on a bit of a chuckle. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Dean says, not sounding at all convincing even to himself. It's  _totally fine_ that he's imagining getting his best friend half naked so he can see what he looks like when he's turned on. He tries again. “Yeah, it’s all good, buddy. I’m fine.”

“If you’re freaking out -”

Dean scoffs. Maybe a little too hard. “I’m not freaking out.”

“I’m not saying you are,” Cas says patiently. “I’m just saying that if _maybe_ you were, that’s okay. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. It’s supposed to help you solve a problem, not create another one.”

“I don’t have another problem,” he lies. But then a thought occurs to him. “Unless - do you have a new problem? Did I freak you out or something? I know I was a little enthusiastic... I just like kissing.”

_I just liked kissing you._

“No, nothing like that on my end. I liked kissing you.” Dean’s eyes go wide again at Cas saying the same thing he just thought, but then Cas corrects himself. “Sorry, I meant that you’re a good kisser.”

“Yeah,” Dean nods. _You too_. That would be weird to say though, right? “Makes the fake dating thing easier, I guess,” he goes with instead. When he looks down at his lap shyly he notices that their legs are pressed together again and he’s definitely leaning into Castiel’s warmth without even meaning to, and that’s all he can take.

 _Abort, abort, abort!_ is basically screaming through his head with a red flashing light in the background. He's gotta get the fuck outta here before this gets any weirder. 

He hops to his feet and claps his hands together before he heads toward the door. “Boy am I tired! I’m gonna bail.”

“Dean -” Castiel says with irritation, obviously not buying his excuse for a second.

Dean fakes a yawn. “I’ll see you tomorrow, pal.”

He cringes even as the word leaves his mouth. Pal, _really?_ Could he be more obvious!?

“Dean!”

“‘Night, Cas!”

The door slams behind him and Dean immediately starts working on convincing himself it’s normal to enjoy being close with Cas when he's all warm and snuggly. It's extremely normal to enjoy kissing a hot guy, and it's even normal to fantasize a little about said hot guy after a kiss like that. It’s just the part about the hot guy being his best friend (and pretending to date him) that’s a little weird.

But it’s fine.

It’s totally, _totally_ fine...


	2. Chapter 2

“Okay, so if we’re dating, what tie would you say goes best with your Solo slash Chewy tie?” Castiel asks, holding up two ties. “The Millennium Falcon or C-3PO and R2D2?”

“Dude. Good thing we’re fake dating ‘cause I’d dump your ass for even asking me such a dumb question.”

Castiel snorts. “So Millennium Falcon it is.”

“Don’t think getting the answer right redeems you,” Dean says, looping his tie around his neck and attempting to tie it for what feels like the billionth time. And fumbling it _again._

“Want me to help you with that?” Castiel offers.

“It’s either that or I hang myself with it.”

“Take it easy,” Cas says with a small laugh. He steps into Dean’s space and pulls the two ends of the tie so they’re uneven, then pauses. “Actually, no,” he seems to decide.

“What? Why?”

“Say something nice first since you were a dick over the tie question.”

Dean lets out a huff of laughter. “Really?”

“Really. You have to practice being nice to me so we make a believable couple.”

Dean sighs heavily. “I don’t wanna.”

Castiel shrugs and steps in front of the mirror to tie his own tie. “Okay, that’s fine with me. Just better hope they let you in even though you’re not following the dress code.”

“I’ll just tie it around my head,” he says flippantly.

Cas tries and fails to hide his smile, but his fingers work deftly to knot his own tie before he turns back to face him. “Let’s go then,” he says.

Well fuck. Castiel’s just as stubborn as he is, and he knows he’s not gonna give in and tie his damn tie for him unless he says something nice. As much as he wants to just to spite him, he can’t really go to dinner with a freakin’ billionaire with a tie around his head.

“Fine,” he sighs. Then he grins when a thought occurs to him. “Your best friend is smokin’ hot.”

Castiel rolls his eyes dramatically. “That was something nice about you, not me. But nice try.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Dean relents. “I uh - think your eyes are cool.” Castiel’s lips turn into a sideways smile that he’s sure he’s never seen aimed at him before, and he tries to remind himself he’s not supposed to think it’s adorable.

“Thank you, Dean,” he says sincerely. “Was that so hard?”

“Not really. I just like to be a pain in the ass.”

Castiel approaches him again and takes the two ends of his tie in his hands, already beginning to cross them over one another as he says, “Dean tops: confirmed.”

Dean chuckles, and Castiel’s eyes flick up to share his amusement. He hasn’t really been this close face to face with him before - except for when they were kissing - and damn. His eyes actually are really nice. All blue and shit, seeming even brighter now with the blue of his tie bringing them out.

“I mean it,” he hears himself say.

“Mean what?” Cas repeats, confused considering he can’t read Dean’s mind.

“I know you probably get this all the time, but I actually do like your eyes.”

Cas ducks his head quickly and gives him the impression he either embarrassed him or made him feel shy. “Yeah. I mean, that’s usually the first thing strangers say to try to pick me up.” Dean feels _his_ face flood with color, but Castiel continues with, “But considering I’m pretty sure that’s not what’s going on here, I appreciate the compliment on another level.”

“Guess you can be grateful that people are way nicer to you than me. I usually get comments about my cock sucking lips.”

Castiel snorts. “It’s not like they’re wrong.”

Dean grins in response. “But still. Like that’s gonna get me on my knees, you know? Have some fucking tact.”

“Good thing you already found a date for the night who likes you for much more than your lips,” Castiel says, straightening his tie. _Much more_ than his lips? Not like he doesn’t like them, but he likes him for more than that? “There you go. All done.”

Dean turns to look in the mirror and nods his approval. He sees Cas watching over his shoulder and tugs him so he’s standing beside him. Telling himself not to feel weird about it, he wraps his arm around Cas’s waist and says, “So, how do we look?”

“The matching black shirts were a smart move, because our ties clash horribly,” he admits, and Dean laughs.

“The colors, yeah, but the Solo and ship go together like peanut butter and jelly.”

“Or you and Baby,” Castiel amends.

“Yes! Exactly!” Dean says enthusiastically. “So we’re still good.”

“Besides that, we’re doing the gay community a favor by putting an end to the _all gay men are fashionable_ stereotype.”

“Uh, speak for yourself there, buddy. I still look hot as hell.”

Castiel elbows him. “You start to say something like that in there and you know I’m going to have to kiss you to shut you up.”

Dean’s stomach flips with nerves at the thought. “I really am an asshole.”

“You’re doing better,” Castiel promises. “Just know that’s your punishment.”

Dean doesn’t think another kiss from Cas would be all that bad (especially if it’s as good as their first), but he’s not dumb enough to say it. “Noted. Now let’s get the show on the road. I’m -”

“- driving,” Castiel says at the same time as him, grinning. “I know.”

Dean’s 1967 Chevy Impala is his pride and joy. He takes every possible opportunity to drive her around and he isn’t exactly quiet about it. As he opens his door and immerses himself in the familiar scent of leather, he can’t even find it inside of himself to be sorry for being a little obnoxious about his Baby.

He looks over to share a smile with Cas, but has to look away quickly when the sight of his best friend all dressed up in a Star Wars tie makes something start fluttering in his stomach. Since when does lookin’ at Cas make him feel like that? He cranks AC/DC to drown out his thoughts before he pulls out of the driveway and heads towards the restaurant. He parks his car expertly and turns to face Cas.

“You ready for this?”

“It’ll be fine,” Cas promises with an easy smile.

He reaches for the door handle but Dean stops him. “Hold your horses. If I’m supposed to be your date I better get that,” Dean says, getting out of the car and jogging around to the passenger side to open the door for Cas.

“Wow. I never would have expected you to pretend to be a gentleman like that on a date,” Castiel says with a cheeky grin while he straightens his tie. “Thank you, Dean.”

“Not gonna make it look like you’re dating a dick when you’re doin’ this to be nice to me,” Dean explains. “Should we, uh -?” He holds his hand out in a half-assed offering and Castiel nods before pressing their hands palm to palm and sliding their fingers together.

Chuck is waiting for them at the front doors and Dean simultaneously breathes a sigh of relief at a familiar face and swallows hard knowing that Chuck’s getting a look at he and Cas _together_ for the first time.

“Hey guys, glad you could make it. Snazzy ties,” he comments, reaching out to shake Dean’s hand.

Dean has to untangle his fingers from Cas’s in order to return Chuck’s handshake, and he just barely manages not to jump when Castiel’s hand rests heavily on his lower back as he, too, greets Chuck.

“Anybody else from the office joining us?” Castiel asks.

“Anna will be here, of course, but other than that, it’s just us,” Chuck answers. _Of course_ Anna’s here, because what else would make this more awkward than it already is? “Oh, there she is now,” Chuck says, gesturing behind them with a nod of his head.

They both turn in her direction and Dean gets an eyeful of Anna in an incredibly tight black dress that clings to every curve of her body, and Dean’s suddenly reminded of why he chanced a back seat of the car romp with her to begin with. She looks damn good with her long, red hair spiraling down her back and her lips painted to match. She smiles at him knowingly and just as he’s about to give her a flirtatious smile of his own, he feels a big hand slide along his back to hook around his hip and Castiel’s warm breath on his ear.

“If you flirt with her in front of me when we’re supposed to be dating, I _will_ leave you to deal with her on your own all night,” he threatens in a whisper.

Dean laughs like he said something funny even though his low voice rumbling so close to his ear was more than enough to get him to forget all about Anna, and he distractedly nods at her in acknowledgement instead of making a comment about her dress like he was going to. Cas presses a chaste kiss to his temple and he instantly feels like his face catches fire. He can’t remember anybody kissing him like that since his mom when he was a little kid.

“Aren’t you two cute,” Chuck comments.

“Believe me, that’s all Dean,” Castiel says smoothly.

“Gimme a break. Those big eyes of yours are even worse than a damn puppy,” Dean says honestly, and Chuck and Cas both laugh.

“Come on in and I’ll introduce you to our host,” Chuck says, leading the way into the restaurant.

Dean follows behind him with Castiel’s hand on his back - apparently he does that a lot - and holds the door open for both him and Anna to walk through. He reaches for Castiel’s hand once they’re all through and stops to hand over his cell phone when he’s asked. Apparently this is a high security event. After that, he allows himself to be led into a private room where Charlie Bradbury is waiting for them.

They barely cross the threshold before they’re stopped in their tracks at what he can only describe as an excited squeal and a flash of red.

“Is that a Slayers Handbook handbag?” Charlie gasps. Dean looks around, having absolutely no idea what she’s talking about, but before anybody can say anything she exclaims, “Where did you _find that?”_

Anna laughs nervously. “I’ve had it for about fifteen years but this the first chance I’ve had to show it off.”

“It’s seriously amazeballs,” she gushes. “Anna Milton, right?”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Anna responds, holding her hand out for a shake. “This is my father, Charles -”

“Chuck,” he corrects with a laugh. “Nice to finally see you face to face.”

 _“And_ not on a computer screen. Where’s your geek flag, though?” she asks with an adorable pout. Chuck raises a finger, then lifts his pant leg to reveal Spock crew socks with ears sticking off of them. “Oh, those are _fantastic!_ I approve,” she says with a small bow.

And that’s when Dean realizes she’s wearing wizard robes. Super expensive ones too if the quality is anything to go by.

“Those robes are freakin’ awesome,” he says.

“I know, right?” she beams. “Word on the street is that they were worn by Luna Lovegood herself.”

“In the movie!?” he asks excitedly.

“No, in the book,” Cas says sarcastically, and he laughs at his own stupid question while Cas wraps his arm around him again.

“Holy Brokeback Mountain,” she says suddenly, looking between them. “You two have enough pretty between you for the whole guest list.”

“That’s all Cas,” Dean says, stealing Cas’s line from before and getting a round of laughter from everybody in on the joke.

“Ah ha, Castiel Novak,” she says, pointing at Cas before shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you. _Love_ the tie.”

“Thank you. Do you know everybody’s name from the firm?” Castiel asks.

“Pretty much,” she shrugs. “I checked you guys out pretty hard.”

Considering he’s the only one who hasn’t introduced himself, he does it anyway. “I’m Dean Winchester.”

“Temp turned perm,” she comments. “I checked out some of your pitches, and I gotta say, I like the way your mind works. Good catch by Chuck.”

Dean’s completely surprised to hear that. “Wow, really? I feel like I’m just pulling ideas outta my ass a lot of the time.”

Chuck clears his throat pointedly and he realizes too late that cursing isn’t appropriate at a work function. He winces and is about to apologize when Charlie says, “Well wherever you find them, keep ‘em coming, because you’re a big reason I went with Chuck to begin with. We’ll talk more later, okay? Gotta do the whole schmoozing hostess thing,” she says with another grin, then she takes off just as quickly as she showed up.

He turns to share his disbelief over her praise with Cas, but instead of shock, he’s met with a look bursting with so much pride you’d think he just won a Nobel prize or something.

“I told you so,” Cas says smugly before he can say anything.

“Told me what?”

“That your ideas are brilliant and unique, and that you need to give yourself more credit for what you offer the team!”

He blushes again and rubs at the back of his neck nervously.

Anna huffs a little and shakes her head. Dean looks at her curiously and she waves him away. “Sorry. I just have no idea how I didn’t see it before.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Chuck laughs. “Come on, I’ll show you to our table.”

Dean has absolutely no idea what they’re talking about, but he’s interrupted by Cas again before he can ask.

“Actually, I’m going to get a drink first. Dean, beer or whisky?” Castiel asks.

“Beer’s good. Thanks.”

Cas catches him completely off guard when he leans in and brushes their lips together quickly before he squeezes his arm and walks towards the bar, leaving Dean looking after him _(god damn_ those pants fit him like a glove) like an idiot with a brain way too muddled for the simple kiss he just got.

“Shall we?” Chuck says again, and Dean nods awkwardly before he follows him to their table, mentally chastising himself the whole way. It hasn’t even been three damn days and already he’s getting all fucked up by this fake dating thing. He’s gotta get his head on straight. Cas is a good-looking guy, but he managed to rein in his attraction for the last three years, so he should be able to do it now.

He takes the seat with his name on it and relaxes slightly when he sees Cas’s name is on one side and Charlie’s is on the other. Until he thinks about sharing a meal with somebody like her.

“Charlie’s eating with us!?” Dean whispers to Chuck. There’s four other tables set in the room and he assumed he’d be in the clear until after dinner.

Chuck shrugs. “Looks like it.”

“Well, uh, fair warning. I sorta have the worst table manners ever,” Dean confesses.

“You’re naturally charming,” Anna says. “You’ll have her eating out of the palm of your hand in no time. I just know it.”

Dean flicks his eyes nervously to Chuck, but Chuck just shrugs. “She’s not wrong. You have a natural charisma.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” he replies. “Though I doubt you’ll still think so by the time we’re done.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing you’ve already impressed our host,” Chuck says.

“Yeah, probaly,” Dean answers awkwardly.

He sees Cas making his way towards their table with two bright purple drinks and whispers, “What the hell?”

Cas places their drinks on the table as he approaches and before he can ask, Castiel says, “They didn’t have beer _or_ whisky.”

“What the hell kind of bar is this!?”

“I have no idea. My options were a Purple Nurple, Sand in the Crack, or Cement Mixer. I just went with the first thing the woman said.”

Dean eyes the drink warily but tilts his lips into a shrug. “You know me, I’ll try anything once. Bottoms up.”

Cas smiles warmly at him while they clink their glasses together and each take a sip.

“Whew,” Cas gasps, pursing his lips. “That’s incredibly sweet.”

“Not bad though,” Dean admits, taking another longer pull from the tiny straw. “Good choice.”

The four of them make somewhat stilted small talk until everybody walking around takes their seats and they’re joined by Charlie, another guy who looks a little younger than them, and a woman who Dean recognizes as Charlie’s girlfriend, Jo. Jo’s long blonde hair is done up in two long tails and she’s wearing a Sailor Moon dress with tall red boots.

Charlie plops into her seat and hangs her head back with a dramatic sigh before she straightens out again. “Sorry, all that mingling while pretending to be a professional businesswoman is exhausting. How’s it goin’ over here? Hey, how’s the Purple Nurple?” she asks Dean, grinning ear to ear.

“The drink’s better than the experience,” Dean quips, and she laughs heartily.

“I knew I was gonna like you. This is my girlfriend, Jo, and my business partner, Jack,” she says to the table at large. “Here we have Chuck Shurley, owner of Shurely Advertising, his daughter Anna, Dean Winchester, and Castiel Novak.”

“I like your ties,” Jack says. “I’m a big Star Wars fan!”

“Yeah, I kinda got that from the Storm Troopers all over your dress shirt,” Castiel replies, smiling.

“I’m hardly ever subtle,” Jack says with a bright smile in return.

“Speaking of not subtle,” Charlie butts in. “Were your ties supposed to complement each other to be all coupley?”

“Absolutely,” Cas answers.

“He asked me if he should wear this one or C-3PO,” Dean tells her wryly.

Charlie’s eyebrows shoot up in mock horror. “And you’re still together?”

Dean turns to laugh in Cas’s face but once he sees him already laughing with his nose scrunched up he thinks about how friggin’ cute he is, and he ends up grinning at him instead. Cas surprises him when he twines their fingers together, lifts them to his mouth, and presses a kiss to the back of his hand with his eyes still smiling.

He swallows around the sudden dryness of his throat and looks back at Charlie before he responds, “You try stayin’ mad at a face like that.”

Cas pulls their tangled hands into his lap while everybody around them (except for Anna) makes cooing sounds at the pair of them. This is an all-new kind of embarrassment for him and while he knows his cheeks are red, he finds it doesn’t bug him as much as when he feels like people are laughing _at_ him. He’s actually kinda happy knowing that he must be doing a good job as a fake boyfriend if they all think he and Cas are adorable.

“That’s a good point,” Charlie smiles. “I know this is super unprofessional and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but I’m dying to know how you guys started dating. Did you meet at work, or were you doing the horizontal tango before Dean started there?”

Dean feels like his eyes are too wide and he works on controlling them, but he’s still stuck on the idea of people actually thinking that him and Cas are fucking to be able to answer.

Cas comes to the rescue with the truth. “No, this is pretty new. We’ve only been dating for a few weeks, but it seems like longer since we’ve been best friends for a few years.”

“Me and Jo were best friends first, too!” Charlie says, backhanding Dean on the shoulder excitedly. “Took me a while to realize I was okay with settling down with one woman.”

“She’s almost as stubborn as I am,” Jo says, smiling lovingly at her.

“But you guys have been together for a couple of years now, right? I see your picture together all the time,” Dean explains.

“Three years,” they both answer in unison, and then they laugh and smile at each other.

“And no regrets,” Charlie adds.

“Which one of you confessed your feelings first?” Charlie asks.

“I bet it was Castiel,” Jack comments.

“Duh,” Charlie agrees.

“Why me?” Castiel asks, lips twitching with amusement.

“You’re the one being the most affectionate. Dean’s obviously loving it since he’s getting all flushed and staring at you with those little hearts in his eyes,” Charlie says, pausing to bat her eyelashes in what he realizes with abject horror is supposed to be an impression of him looking Cas. “But since I haven’t seen him make a single move, I’m putting my money on Cas as the confessor.”

“You’re right,” Cas admits. “I told him I was attracted to him first.”

Dean’s chest tightens just at the memory, and he reaches for his glass to take another drink.

“Called it!” Charlie says happily, fist bumping with Jack.

“You guys make a really cute couple,” Jo says.

He can hear the smile in Castiel’s voice when he thanks her.

“I swear I’m not going to quiz you the whole time,” Charlie says next. “Just figured I’d wait to get to the boring stuff for when we’re eating.”

“Your idea isn’t boring, Charlie,” Jo says.

“It’s awesome!” Jack agrees, and Dean can’t help smiling at how everything Jack’s said since they’ve sat down has been said with obvious excitement. He reminds him of a little kid or something.

“See why I like these two?” Charlie asks, grinning.

“You and Jack seem pretty upbeat,” Dean says, filling the abrupt silence.

“It’s exhausting,” Jo laments, but she bumps Charlie’s shoulder lovingly.

“What’s it like working for your dad, Anna?” Charlie asks next, and Dean feels himself relax as the attention is moved off of him for a little while. Cas squeezes his hand before he lets it go and reaches for his drink. Dean does the same, and they’re both dry a few minutes later. He whispers to Cas that he’ll get them refills, but Charlie clamps her hand down on his wrist and shakes her head. She raises her hand, and a waiter comes over almost immediately. She orders them all another round of Purple Nurples and tells the waiter to keep them coming, and Dean chuckles at the idea of his boss drinking the bright purple beverage.

Bread and salad are brought out for the table, and Dean passes on the salad but enjoys the bread while they all continue to get to know each other better. It’s the least formal business dinner he’s ever been to, and he’s actually really enjoying himself (maybe because he finished both of Cas’s drinks for him). Cas continues to be openly affectionate with him, placing his hand on his knee or around the back of his chair like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Cas teases him to try to get him to take a bite of his salad - which he obviously refuses - and he somehow gets dragged into what ends up being an outrageously flirtatious squabble when Cas tries to force feed him. He had no choice but to grab onto his wrists to hold him back, and he was smiling and laughing so hard at their battle of wills that he could barely even get himself to kiss Cas back when he leaned in and pressed their lips together quickly with an exaggerated smacking noise.

Thankfully, he still didn’t have to eat a bite of the salad.

Dinner ends up being steak, baked potatoes, and mixed vegetables, and he’s in his absolute glory when he slices into his steak to see it cooked to perfection. He moans around his first bite and catches the amusement in Charlie’s eyes.

They all eat in a comfortable silence for a little while before Charlie launches into the explanation of her new product. She created a line of customizable cell phone cases that allows buyers to digitally upload photos, text, and emojis onto them using an app.

“It’s like a digital frame for your phone,” she explains.

“Jesus, that’s _brilliant!”_ Dean blurts. “How does it charge?”

“Wirelessly,” she answers. “Comes with a charge pad you just lay it on at night. One charge lasts a hundred hours, more if you dim the brightness.”

“That’s incredible,” Castiel says next. “Think about all of the parents who have pictures of their kids on their phone cases. They’ll be able to change it as they grow without having to buy a new case every time.”

“Is it durable?” Anna wonders.

“Not quite as good as an OtterBox, but as close as we could get considering the technology involved,” Charlie answers.

“And I haven’t given up on getting there yet, either,” Jack adds.

“Jack was really involved with the construction of the case,” Charlie explains. “And he’s personally offended he can’t get it to be as durable as the competition.”

“But the competition doesn’t offer the personalization your case does,” Castiel points out. “I don’t have an OtterBox and I’ve never broken a phone. I would hands down go with a photo case before an OtterBox.”

“You’re exactly the kind of person we’re hoping to rope in then,” Charlie says with a laugh. “You could have pictures of your stupidly hot boy toy on the back of your phone right now.”

Reminds him of something high school kids would do to brag about who they’re dating. “Teenagers are going to _love_ that,” Dean realizes.

“What the frack!” Charlie gasps, looking quickly at Jack. “How did we not think of that!?”

“Because we’re not teenagers?” Jack offers.

“It’s like, the modern equivalent to writing ‘Charlie plus Jo equals love’ all over your binder!” Charlie says excitedly.

“Parents everywhere are going to hate us!” Jack laughs.

“YES! See Dean, this is _exactly_ why I wanted to work with Shurely Advertising. Chuck, I want Dean to either lead this campaign or work extremely closely with whoever spearheads it. I’m telling you, he’s my guy.”

Dean couldn’t wipe the shock off of his face if he wanted to.

“You know we’re just here to make you happy, Charlie,” Chuck agrees. “If you want Dean, you have him. He and Castiel can work together since Castiel’s been with us longer and is more familiar with our programming and modules, and Anna can supervise to keep them on track.”

“As long as Dean has creative freedom,” Charlie insists.

“Absolutely,” Chuck says again.

“Wow, I don’t even know what to say,” Dean breathes as his fifth drink of the evening is placed down in front of him.

“That’s okay, because I have to go make a boring ass speech now anyway,” Charlie says with a laugh. “Take a load off while I show you and everybody else in the room what this thing looks like.”

“Think I got time to hit the can? All of these Purple Nurples are going straight to my bladder,” Dean says.

“Dean,” Castiel groans beside him.

Charlie just laughs, though. “You’ve got like, ten minutes of me thanking people before the prototype demo. And it’s not like I’m not gonna send it to you personally anyway, so go do what you have to do.”

“In that case, I’m going with you,” Castiel says, getting to his feet.

“No funny business,” Charlie replies with a gleam in her eye, and Dean chokes out a nervous laugh at the implication before she spins and takes off with Jack beside her.

“We’ll be right back,” Dean says to the table. He’s already anticipating Cas to take his hand on the way to the bathroom, and he isn’t disappointed when he does. Once they’ve both emptied their bladders (with no funny business) they wash up.

Cas catches his eye in the mirror. “This is going extremely well for you, isn’t it?”

“Fuckin’ spearheading a product launch for Charlie Freakin’ Bradbury? It’s insane! I have no idea what I’m even doing!”

“I’m sure you know more than you think you do,” Cas assures him. “How awkward do you think it will be with Anna supervising us?”

“Hopefully not as awkward as it was tonight every time she tried to talk to me.”

“Which was a lot, right?” Cas checks. “Wasn’t just my imagination?”

“I wish. She’s like a dog with a bone! She even interrupted Charlie at one point, but Chuck gave her the look and she finally shut up.”

“It’s extremely distasteful to flirt with somebody who’s taken,” Castiel says, balling up his paper towel and slamming it into the trash with more force than is strictly necessary. “I always liked her before, but trying to flirt with my boyfriend right in front of me crossed a fucking line,” he seethes. “If Chuck wasn’t her father I would have told her to find her own man and leave mine alone.”

Dean’s surprise comes out in a weird breathy laugh. Cas is talking about him like they’re really dating, and it’s impossible to miss the possessiveness in his voice every time he refers to him as _my boyfriend_ or _mine_.

“Dude, jealous much?” Dean asks.

“I’m not _jealous,_ I’m just irritated,” he clarifies.

“Dunno about that man, your eyes are lookin’ pretty green over somebody you’re only fake dating.”

Cas flinches slightly before his features rearrange into something closer to normal, and he says, “The point is _she_ doesn’t know we’re not really together and her behavior is therefore still tactless and unbecoming.”

Dean snorts. “Alright, Professor. Let’s get outta here before we miss dessert.”

“God forbid,” Cas teases fondly. “But if Anna doesn’t back off I’m saying something.”

“Yeah, I got that loud and clear, Cas,” Dean chuckles.

As they walk back towards their table, Anna turns their way and then very deliberately drops her napkin so she has to turn sideways in her seat to pick it up. As she bends at the waist, her small but perky breasts come dangerously close to spilling right out of her dress and Dean finds himself struck with the memory of just how nice they felt in his hands. She looks up to check if he’s watching her with a smirk on her face and he feels himself blush slightly at being caught.

“That’s it,” Castiel mutters, and the next thing he knows he’s got a hand winding around his tie and he’s being pulled in like a fish on a line until Cas’s mouth is on his. His first thought is that this is absolutely nothing like the way Cas kissed him the last time. Where he had been gentle and soft back at his house, this is all bruising pressure, clacking teeth, and searing possession.

Dean’s hands fall onto Cas’s chest and his fingers clutch at his shirt when Cas’s tongue forces its way past his lips and into his mouth, and just like that, all remaining thoughts flee the building. Al he can do is feel. Again, this is nothing like the shy promise of tongue like their last kiss. This is _claiming_. This is Cas licking into his mouth and owning every inch of it with one sweep of his tongue after another and there is absolutely nothing that Dean could have done to prepare himself for his reaction.

He fucking _loves_ it.

He wants to bare his neck for Cas to suck a dozen hickies into his skin so everybody knows he belongs to him. He wants Cas to push him to his knees and force his cock down his throat until he’s choking on it. He wants to bend over right here and let Cas take him fast and rough on top of the closest table just to prove that he’s his.

His dick’s rapidly chubbing up trapped in his pant leg and his chest burns with the need for air, but still he follows Castiel’s tongue for more. He wants _so much_ more. More of the lingering sweet flavor of his drink mixed with the fresh taste of Cas’s mouth that’s about to bring him to his knees. More of the dark, spicy scent of Castiel’s cologne in his nostrils. More of the heat that’s burning inside of him. More of the way Cas’s body is a solid mass of muscle against his. More, more, mo-

Cas pulls away abruptly, dragging his teeth along his bottom lip as he retreats and making Dean lean in to chase his lips once more. Cas makes the most arousing little, “Mmmm,” sound deep in his throat as he kisses him one last time before breaking away and nuzzling their noses together while they work on catching their breath.

When the fog in his mind clears, he has the immediate thought that he’s going to get fired for making out with his boyfriend at a work function, and then hysterically considers it still might’ve been worth it. That was a hell of a kiss. Who knew Cas would kiss like that!? Then he remembers with a jolt that he forgot he wasn’t supposed to enjoy that, and he even managed to forget he’s not really his boyfriend.

While he battles with the panic bubbling up inside of him mixed with the staggering happiness he's currently feeling, Cas turns his head back towards Anna. Though Dean doesn’t bother to look, he hears Cas’s voice come out low and gritty but still crystal clear when he says, _“Mine.”_

He huffs out a laugh and elbows Cas to get his attention again. “Yeah, totally not jealous at all, huh Cas?”

Cas’s hand drops onto his shoulder heavily and squeezes painfully, drawing a laugh he has to work to stifle as they walk back and take their seats.

He’s so entirely focused on the dessert menu that he doesn’t even notice that Anna has fled from their table, and he doesn’t see the smug look of satisfaction on Cas’s face, either.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m gonna go call us an Uber,” Castiel says a few hours later as he pushes his chair out.

Once Charlie had gone over the product for everybody, she came back to sit for about an hour before saying she was heading home but to stay and enjoy the free food and drinks for as long as they wanted. Chuck and Anna left soon after (which was a huge relief considering the icy glares he’d been getting from Anna since Cas kissed him senseless) and now it sounds like Cas is ready to go.

“What the hell for?” Dean asks. “My car’s right outside.”

“Yes, but you’ve had what - six drinks?”

Dean frowns as that occurs to him for the first time. The Purple Nurples are so unlike any other drink he’s had before that he never really thought about the alcohol in them - probably because he couldn’t taste it. And that sorta explains the fuzzy head he’s got going on, too.

“I’m not leaving my car here,” Dean tells him.

“Well, you’re not driving it. So either you let me drive it home, or it stays.”

“I can still -”

“If you’re about to offer to drive in your condition, I’m about to be incredibly pissed,” Castiel warns him, shooting daggers at him with his eyes.

“Nobody drives my Baby but me.”

“Then an Uber it is,” Castiel says easily, half rising out of his seat.

He _can’t_ leave his Baby in a damn parking lot overnight. “Fuckin’ fine,” he grumbles. “You can drive her, but I swear to God, one tiny scratch and I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands.”

Castiel tilts his head to the side adorably and curves his lips into a small smile. “You’re so cute when it comes to your car.”

“Screw you,” he replies, annoyed that Cas thought he was cute at the same time he was thinking the same thing about him. “I’m serious.”

“I’m not going to scratch your precious car,” Castiel promises. “Hand ‘em over.”

Dean reluctantly passes him the keys with a glare to rival Anna’s. They say a few goodbyes to people they’ve been introduced to throughout the night, then they walk out of the restaurant and to the Impala hand in hand.

Dean frowns as he settles into the passenger seat feeling all kinds of wrong, but when Cas reaches up to adjust the rear-view mirror, his eyes are drawn to him and it’s suddenly hard to catch his breath. Cas looks _hot_ behind the wheel surrounded by leather. Dean keeps watching him as he shifts into reverse and eases the Impala onto the road expertly. Damn. Cas driving his Baby is totally different than watching him drive his own beat up Lincoln. He looks... cool, Dean decides. All sure of himself, slouched back comfortably with one hand on the steering wheel. He drives the same way he kisses, he realizes. No nonsense, totally in control, confident, and hot as fuck.

Cas glances over at him, shooting him a cocky grin like he knows exactly what he’s thinking, and Dean has to look out the window before his brain to mouth filter malfunctions. How did he manage to ignore how hot Cas was for the last three years, and why is it only affecting him so much now? Is it all because of that first kiss? Or when Cas admitted that he thought Dean was hot? Now that he knows there’s a mutual attraction there, he can’t seem to get his brain to stick to thinking that they’re _just_ _friends_. Whatever the reason is, he’s too buzzed to be trying to figure it out right now.

When they pass the turn off to his house, he asks, “We goin’ to your place?”

“I figured it made the most sense. Then we both have a vehicle to get to work tomorrow,” Castiel explains. “If I drop you off at your place you have no car, and if I stay with you then I’m in the same boat.”

Dean nods. “Yeah, alright.”

“You can either go back home early to change or wear some of my clothes for tomorrow,” Cas offers.

Dean nods his okay, and it’s not long after that when they pull into Castiel’s driveway. They take turns using the bathroom, brushing their teeth (Cas is a ‘keep a spare toothbrush for company’ kinda guy), and when he comes out of the bathroom he finds Cas in the spare room just finishing up with putting on fresh sheets.

“Y’know you don’t have to do that for just me,” Dean says, standing in the doorway.

Cas shrugs. “I don’t mind.”

“Well thanks.”

“Need anything else?” Cas asks.

“Nah, pretty sure I’m gonna hit the bed and die,” Dean says tiredly, moving out of the way so Cas can pass him to go back to his own room.

“Same,” he says with a smile. He runs his hand down Dean’s arm and tenderly says, “Sleep well, Dean.”

“Yeah, you too,” Dean answers, and he leans in to catch Cas’s lips in a quick kiss goodnight. It feels so good he lingers for more, and his hand lands on Cas’s face with his thumb brushing his cheekbone while he submerges himself in the spicy scent of Castiel’s cologne and the warmth of Cas’s pliant lips beneath his.

Feeling sated and sleepy, he ends the kiss, and it isn’t until his eyes open slowly and he sees the expression of shock all over Cas’s face that he remembers they’re not pretending for anybody right now, and embarrassment shoots through him like a rocket.

“Shit - sorry. I forgot -” he begins, taking several steps away and running his hand down his face to try to clear his foggy brain while he turns his back on Cas.

“I don’t mind,” Castiel says quietly. Dean looks over to see his eyes are all soft and way too blue, and it feels like his heart clenches just looking at him.

“Oh,” Dean flounders, looking away again awkwardly. “Well, uh, ‘night, Cas.”

There’s a long moment where silence stretches between them, and he’s forced to glance back over his shoulder to make sure Cas is still there. He is, and he looks like he’s struggling to hold something inside of him that’s trying to break free. One hand is buried in his thick hair, and his jaw is clenched, but once their eyes meet again he visibly relaxes before smiling softly. “Goodnight, Dean.”

Left alone, Dean strips down to his boxers and flops onto the bed. Despite the way turmoil is churning inside of him, he falls asleep almost instantly.

 

* * *

 

He wakes up the next morning to the scent of coffee and the sound of the shower running. He rolls over and sees it’s barely seven in the morning. Damn Cas and his stupid jogging at the ass crack of dawn. He flings off the covers and rolls onto his back with the intention of giving himself a minute to wake up. He must fall back asleep, though, because the next thing he knows he’s being shaken awake by Castiel.

Cas has a stack of clothes in his hands, but Dean’s much more interested in the fact that he’s half naked. He’s got his slacks on for work, but his shirt is nowhere to be seen and his belt is hanging open at his hips, causing the front of his pants to dip down dangerously. He tries to look away from the dark trail of hair that leads beneath the band of his boxers, but unfortunately for him, all that does is bring his attention to Castiel’s torso.

He must’ve seen him without a shirt a hundred times by now, but for some reason he never noticed the smattering of freckles around his slightly soft stomach. There’s a tiny bit of pudge on his sides that makes him look soft and cuddly, but in a striking contrast, his chest is firm and his arms are thick with muscles. As Dean continues to take him all in, wondering idly if the rest of his skin might taste as good as his mouth does, he realizes he’s aroused by every inch of him.

“Hey,” Cas says easily, as if Dean’s eyes aren’t currently glued to the swell of his bicep. “I brought you a few things to try on for work.” He holds up a blue pair of pants and Dean’s finally able to drag his eyes away from his tanned skin. “These are a little long on me so they’ll probably fit you best length-wise.”

“Coffee,” Dean grunts.

Cas smiles indulgently. “I forgot you were like this when you first wake up. Coffee’s in the kitchen.” Dean squints curiously when Cas’s cheeks begin to turn pink, but then he says, “And put some pants on before you come out,” and he gets it. He’s lying in bed in just his boxers, and while he isn’t full wood, he’s suddenly aware he didn’t wake up exactly flaccid.

“You’re one to talk,” Dean grumbles as he sits up and pulls on his pants from last night.

“If I put a shirt on before coffee I almost always spill it on myself,” Cas explains. “Usually I walk around in my boxers, but I thought since I had company that wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“Yeah, yeah. Less talking, more coffee,” Dean says dryly.

Castiel huffs before he drops the stack of clothes on his bed and walks out of his room, muttering something that sounds a lot like a sarcastic, “You’re welcome,” under his breath as he goes.

A cup of coffee and a bagel later, Dean’s in the shower and feeling much more awake. He dresses in the pants Cas was yapping about, and goes with a plain white shirt that’s a little tight across his shoulders but otherwise fits pretty good. He gives himself a once over in the mirror and decides that even with the day’s worth of scruff and his open collar, he looks pretty damn good for not even wearing his own clothes and walks back into the kitchen to let Cas know he’s ready.

Cas takes one look at him and chokes on his coffee. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, he looks down to make sure he didn’t leave his fly open or something, but he seems put together well enough.

“First day drinking coffee, Cas?” Dean asks.

Cas clears his throat and says, “Obviously not. Seeing you in my clothes just took me by surprise.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “You know you gave them to me, right?”

“Shut up,” Cas replies, making Dean laugh. “Now you know why I can't get dressed before I eat." Dean smiles, but it falters as Cas quite obviously checks him out, raking his eyes slowly from his face down to his feet. Dean would swear to a jury he can actually _feel_ his gaze heat up his skin as he looks him up at down. "I guess it’s a good thing everybody at the office already thinks we’re dating, because you showing up in my clothes is sure to start all kinds of talk.” 

Dean’s heart leaps in his chest when he realizes why Cas had such a strong reaction to seeing him walk into the room wearing his clothes. He’s shared shirts or whatever with the few people he’s dated in the past, and it was always ridiculously hot to see them wearing something that belonged to him. Dressing a lover up in his clothes and parading them around for everybody to see was like staking a claim in a way. Considering how possessive Cas got last night over Anna, he’s guessing that’s something Cas is _really_ into.

“Especially when you can’t stop lookin’ at me like that,” Dean says with a wink, and he gets the distinct pleasure of seeing Cas flush right to his roots. “Thanks for the clothes.”

“I’d say anytime, but I’m not sure my heart could take it,” Cas flirts easily, and Dean smiles back knowingly before he grabs his keys off of the counter and opens the front door.

“See ya at work, honeybunch,” Dean jokes, and he hears Cas’s laughter follow him outside before the door closes.

It isn’t until he’s about to back out of the driveway and can only see half of his back window in the mirror that he remembers Cas driving his car home and how hot he thought it was at the time. Then the goodnight kiss comes flooding back to him, and he’s red-faced and swimming in embarrassment for the rest of the drive.

Shit, that was dumb.

Thankfully Cas didn’t say anything about it this morning. What was it that he said last night? _He didn’t mind?_ What the hell’s that supposed to mean, anyway? That he didn’t mind that Dean made a mistake and forgot, or that he didn’t mind kissing him period?

He indulges himself with a sigh.

It would be ridiculous to even try to pretend that he doesn’t like kissing Cas at this point. God, that kiss last night at the restaurant had been so much hotter than he was expecting. It was nice when they kissed for the first time, but man, Cas taking control like that had pushed buttons he didn’t even know he had. Then again before bed. He hadn’t meant to let it go on like that. He was only thinking of a chaste goodnight kiss, but something about Cas just drew him in for more and he didn’t want to stop.

And what’s up with that, anyway? He keeps trying not to think about Cas as anything more than a friend, but this shit between them clearly isn’t going away. Now that he and Cas have blurred the line between friendship and more, he feels like he’s left in this weird limbo. He’s more attracted to him than he has been since they first met, and he keeps second guessing everything Cas does, wondering if he’s thinking the same kinda things he is or if he’s just trying to be a good friend.

He starts thinking back looking for any clues to clear it up. He kissed Cas without an audience before bed last night just because it felt right (and Cas “didn’t mind”), and they were maybe sorta flirting this morning even though nobody else was there, and Cas was definitely participating then, too. He definitely isn’t discouraging him.

And for himself, there’s the other thing as well. The mix of excited, happy, and nervous he feels when Cas touches him sometimes, or when his stomach feels all tied up in knots and he can’t make himself stop blushing because Cas smiles at him in that new way he keeps doing. It keeps making him feel all warm and glowy, and while it’s nice, it’s not what should be going on right now.

His hands tighten on the steering wheel as he puts a name to how he feels in his head for the first time. It’s not like he’s stupid. He knows it’s the same kinda feeling as he gets when he’s got a really bad crush on somebody, he just doesn’t get why it’s only coming up now when he needs to keep his game face on to get Anna to leave him the fuck alone at work.

He’s sure he can deal with it, though. So he kinda gets a little turned on when Cas kisses him like he did last night, and yeah, he not-so-secretly loves it when Cas holds his hand or snuggles in real close when they’re standing together. But Cas doesn’t have to know that, and neither does anybody else. If Cas doesn’t mind him slipping up every now and then even when they’re alone - and _that is_ what he said - then he doesn’t have to worry about it, right? Cas ain’t exactly shy. He’d definitely come out and say something if he wanted him to keep his distance.

By the time he pulls into the parking garage at work he’s talked some sense into himself and decided he’s totally over thinking this. He feels fine, Cas feels fine, _and_ he gets a little extra attention to sweeten the pot. What’s that saying? If it ain’t broke don’t fix it? He and Cas ain’t broke - they’re fine - so he needs to just leave it alone.

 

* * *

 

Well, they probably would’ve been fine. From the second he steps foot in the office and people start whispering, though, he knows something’s up. He doesn’t know what it is until after he’s gotten his second cup of coffee and logs into his Facebook account, where he somehow has more than two hundred notifications.

What the hell?

The first notification he clicks on tells him part of what he needs to know. _Sam Winchester commented on an article you were mentioned in._ An article? What article? He clicks the notification and gets brought to a Facebook post for the Daily News. _Charlie Bradbury Unveils New Secret Project at Gay-Friendly Event._ He narrows his eyes as he clicks the article to see why on earth he’s tagged in it, and that’s when his heart stops.

There’s a fucking picture of him and Cas plastered against one another making out like a couple of horny teenagers.

The caption says, “Advertising executives Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester were seen passionately embracing several times throughout the evening.”

What. The. Fuck.

Who prints this shit!? How is this _news_ with everything else happening in the damn country right now? He leans forward to bury his head in his arms on his desk and groans loudly. What the hell are they supposed to do!?

“Dean? Everything okay?” He hears Cas’s voice and groans again. Now he has to tell Cas what doing a good deed for his best friend got him. He pops his head up reluctantly.

“You been on Facebook yet today?”

Castiel frowns. “You know I don’t use social media if I can avoid it. Why? What happened? Is Trump threatening to bomb another country?”

“I wish,” Dean says heavily. “Somebody took a picture of us, uh, kissing. When we came out of the bathroom,” he explains, getting a knowing nod from Cas. “And it’s in the freakin’ Daily News.”

Cas blows out a long stream of air. “I suppose that’s why everybody was whispering when I walked in?”

“That’s my best guess. I had hundreds of Facebook notifications when I logged in. I had no idea our picture was being taken!” Not that he was aware of anything other than how badly he wanted Cas when he was being kissed like that, but still.

“Me neither,” Cas says immediately. “I’m so sorry, Dean. I never would’ve put you in that position had I known.”

 _“You’re_ sorry?!” Dean says in disbelief. “This whole thing is because of me!”

“I forced you to go along with it -”

“You were only trying to help! And now the whole damn city’s seen us making out!”

“At least you look hot doing it,” Lisa says from her desk at the front. Cas pokes his head around the partition and Dean pushes his chair away from his desk to do the same. She shrugs unapologetically. “It’s not like you were being quiet about it. And everybody knows now anyway. Besides, you do look hot together.”

Dean feels his face flood with color and wishes he could crawl under his desk for the rest of the day.

“Is the correct thing to say in this situation... thank you?” Cas asks with his head tilted to the side.

“First for me, too,” Lisa laughs. “I’m just saying, it’s not like you look like sloppy kissers or super awkward together or anything. You look all hot and smoldery. Could be worse.”

“Thank you?” Cas says in half a question, and Lisa laughs.

“What the hell are we gonna do?” Dean whispers as he moves back into his cubicle.

“Do what we’ve been doing,” Cas says, placing his hand reassuringly on his shoulder and rubbing it a little. “Just keep going with it. Unless you don’t want to?”

“No, I want to,” Dean confirms. He definitely wants Cas to keep touching him like this, like it’s easy and comfortable for him, too. Maybe something shows in his eyes, because Cas looks around quickly and then leans in to brush their lips together, instantly calming him.

“Me, too. We’ll figure it out, okay? Together.”

Even just hearing that he doesn’t have to deal with this alone releases more of the tension that was inside of him, and he smiles up at his best friend. “Thanks, Cas.”

He hears the sound of an incoming email and turns to read it. He nods to the screen so Cas reads over his shoulder and they both curse under their breath when they see Chuck wants to see them in his office immediately. Dean gets up and they walk to his office together. His door’s open, so Dean taps on the door and is met with a frown that that makes his palms start sweating.

“Probably should’ve called in sick, huh?” he says, trying to break the ice with a joke.

“I wouldn’t have been surprised after how much you drank last night,” Chuck answers. “Not that I can blame you for that considering Charlie was the one ordering them for you. Come in and take a seat, guys. You’re not getting fired.”

“Oh thank Christ,” he breathes as he sits across from Chuck’s desk.

“I already spoke with Charlie this morning. She’s thrilled with the extra publicity, but concerned about the pressure the press is placing on the two of you as individuals and as a couple. As your boss, it’s not my place to talk to you about that, but it’s put the company in a rather strange position to have all of this out in the open like this.”

“We had no idea there was anybody taking pictures, I swear,” Dean says honestly.

“Oh, no, I never thought that at all," Chuck says, waving that away. "Charlie offered for the two of you to come spend some time with her and her people at her office for the rest of the week until this blows over. Higher security, more gay-friendly, and like Charlie mentioned, she’d be able to work with you more closely if you were all together.” He leans back in his chair. “I told her I’d have to run it by you two first, but honestly, I think it would be great for the company. The closer you get with her, the closer she’ll feel tied to us moving forwards, and that can only mean good things for me,” he smiles. “But you were hired to work here for me, so I’m going to leave the decision up to you both.”

“Does it affect our pay or anything?” Dean wonders.

“No, not at all. Castiel can show you how to log in to our programs remotely. Charlie said she’ll have a conference room available for you at all times, and honestly, the technology she has there is likely to be much more advanced than what we have. The only change I know of will obviously be the location, and the dress code,” he says.

“What’s the dress code?” Castiel inquires.

“Entirely casual. Jeans and t-shirts, from what I’ve seen Charlie in so far.”

“Nice,” Dean says happily.

“What do you think about us working off-site, sir?” Castiel asks.

“I thought you dropped the sir four years ago, Castiel,” Chuck says with a smile. “I’ll miss having the two of you in the office, but all of your smaller projects would have been reassigned to other people within the firm so your full attention could be given to Charlie anyway. Bottom line is Charlie wants Dean, which means I want Dean to be happy here, so I want you to do what you want to do.”

“I dunno,” Dean says. “I guess if I can wear jeans and do all the same work then why not, right? What do you think?” he asks Cas.

“I’d love to get my hands on what Charlie has at her office,” Cas confesses.

“Alright. Let’s jump ship, then,” Dean says.

“Temporarily,” Chuck says. “Don’t forget you signed that non-competition clause in your contracts.”

“We’re not goin’ anywhere,” Dean promises.

“I’ll call Charlie and let her know to expect you within the hour. Have fun, and keep me in the loop.”

“Absolutely,” Dean says, getting to his feet. They all shake hands and Dean says, “Thanks, man. I really appreciate this.”

“Happy to have you on board.”

So, it’s forty-five minutes later that he walks into Bradbury Enterprises with his best friend by his side, and is greeted by Charlie herself dressed down in a faded pair of jeans and a Grumpy Cat t-shirt.

“Hey! How does it feel to be a gay icons?” she asks, her eyes shooting sparks of amusement.

“Oh yeah, you’re hilarious,” Dean says dryly.

“You have _no idea_ how many times I’ve been asked that question,” she laughs.

“You coulda warned me there were photographers there before you plied me with alcohol to loosen my inhibitions, by the way.”

“Dude, I don’t know who leaked that picture yet - we have people looking into it - but we didn’t have any photographers there. Hell, we took your phones when you came in so that nobody could take pictures, ya dummy!” she says.

“Oh yeah,” Dean says as he remembers. “Well this just got even weirder, didn’t it?”

“Don’t worry about that now. This place is my own personal Death Star, minus the glaringly obvious flaw in design, and we’re safe here. You can be as gay as you want and nobody’s going to take any pictures,” she promises, looking between them as if she’s waiting for something. That’s when Cas’s hand slides across his back and lands on his hip. _Oh_. He leans into the touch eagerly and shares a smile with him. “Aw, that’s better. Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be working.”

The office they’re left in is absolutely nothing like the office he’s used to working in. It’s full of bright colors, huge windows, a long table with two laptops and two tablets charging for them, overstuffed computer chairs, a couch, two recliners, and bean bag chairs sitting on the plush carpet. When Charlie leaves, Dean turns to Cas and beams at him.

“It looks like a dorm room from IKEA or something,” he comments.

“Grab a laptop before you sit down, because we both know once you get on that couch you’re not gonna budge until lunch,” Castiel says wisely.

“I’m thinking the tablet first. I need to do a shitload of research and brainstorming before I’m ready for a laptop.”

The morning passes with Dean flat on his back on the extremely comfortable couch with the tablet propped up on his stomach, asking questions and bouncing ideas off of Cas as they come to him. Cas brings him a refill of coffee and Dean surges up to kiss him, tugging him down by the back of his neck and holding him in place while he satisfies the urge to ravage his mouth until they’re both breathless. _God damn_ Cas is a good kisser. Quickly realizing he kissed Cas again with nobody else around, he apologizes profusely. Cas waves him away once more, telling him it’s fine to stay in character and not to worry about it.

Of course, he can’t _not_ worry about it, and only manages to clear his head when Jack and Charlie both come in and plop down in the recliners at around five to noon. Dean immediately sits up properly in his seat and straightens his clothes.

Charlie laughs. “You don’t need to be professional around me.”

“You’re a client,” Dean reminds her.

“Yeah, but not one of _those_ kinda clients. I could care less if you lounged around here in a pair of pajamas as long as you’re working.”

“She actually has come in wearing pajamas before,” Jack tells them, smiling.

“And I’m not even sorry,” she beams. “I like you. I like your brain and your sense of humor, and I think you and Castiel are all kinds of adorable together. I want you to be yourself around me, even if that means scratching your nuts and belching the alphabet.”

“Please don’t encourage that,” Cas says, sounding pained.

Charlie just snickers. “So I was thinking we could do lunch if you don’t already have plans?”

“I like lunch,” Dean says.

“Me too!” Jack answers. “We talked about pizza on the way to your office. There’s the best place just around the corner.”

Dean looks to Cas to make sure he’s okay with it, which prompts Castiel to say, “That sounds great.”

“Let’s go then!” Charlie says, hopping to her feet.

Jack jumps up too, but Dean stands slowly with a long stretch. “God I wish I had your energy,” he comments.

“I didn’t have a smokin' public kiss to light the fire like you and your boyfriend did to keep me up all night,” Charlie says with an eyebrow wiggle as she leads the way out of the room.

Dean snorts and just manages to fight back his blush. “Believe me, I hit the bed and died last night. I’m just old.”

“I’m older than you are,” Cas points out. “I believe the word you’re actually looking for is lazy.”

“Lazy fits,” Dean agrees easily, reaching out to take Cas’s hand. Now that it doesn’t make him all red faced, he loves walking around linked like this. “Cas here had already gone for a run and was in the shower when I woke up.”

“Had a sleepover, did ya?” Charlie asks.

“Perhaps that explains why his shirt’s a little tight,” Jack says, half under his breath.

Dean frowns at being caught. “What, you some kinda detective or something?”

“I just have a knack for small details,” Jack explains. That isn’t troubling at all, considering the lie they’re currently living. Cas squeezes his hand though, and it sends a wave of reassurance through him which he lets out in a small smile.

Once they reach the small pizza parlor, they sit at a square table. Cas is beside him, with Jack across from Cas and Charlie across from him. They argue good-naturedly about the toppings, and end up deciding on a meat lovers pizza with extra cheese. The whole place smells so damn good Dean can already feel his mouth starting to water while they wait.

It’s incredibly easy to talk to Charlie and Jack. He feels like he and Charlie have a lot in common, and he's proved right when they all get lost in a long conversation about _The Last Jedi_ that lasts them most of their lunch hour. Dean crams his last bite of pizza crust into his mouth and sits back with a hand on his over-full stomach. Cas has his arm around the back of his chair, so Dean goes with his gut and curls in a little to rest his head on Cas’s shoulder.

Cas kisses his temple before he says, “Let me see your face." Dean tilts his head up to look at him in confusion, and Cas nods. “As usual after pizza, you have some sauce right here.” Cas brushes his thumb over the corner of his mouth, causing the junction of his lips to start tingling. Without thinking about it, he opens his mouth and swipes his tongue over the pad of Cas’s thumb, cleaning it off with one quick motion.

Cas’s eyes flash, and then he quietly says, “Actually, there’s some more right here.” And he leans in to kiss Dean’s top lip, sucking a little as if he’s cleaning it off. “And here,” he says against his lips, positioning his lips a tiny bit more to the side and making Dean’s lips curl into a smile when he realizes Cas is fucking with him. The third time Cas kisses him, he kisses him back, slotting their lips together more firmly and angling for more with a hint of tongue before he remembers their audience and regretfully pulls away.

Cas cups his face in his palm, their gazes lock, and Dean feels that clenching thing in his chest again. “Much better,” Cas says softly.

“I was going to ask if I had anything on my face, but now I’m worried we’ll turn the pizza place into a porno if I do,” Charlie jokes, and Dean finally manages to tear his eyes away from the bright blue of Castiel’s to laugh at her joke.

“I promise I can restrain myself in general. Just not with Dean,” Cas says, not sounding the least bit embarrassed by that.

“Your face is clean, Charlie,” Jack says seriously.

“Thanks bud,” Charlie says with a little laugh. “Let’s head back to work!”

 

* * *

 

They’ve clocked out for the day and are walking out to the parking lot holding hands when Cas starts laughing so hard mid-way through a joke that he can’t keep talking to tell it. He’s so damn adorable with his nose scrunched up like that, Dean stops right in the middle of the parking lot to pull him in for another kiss. It’s a little bit more than a peck this time, but it’s still gentle and friendly, and Cas is smiling at him like he hung the moon when Dean’s phone suddenly dings in his pocket. He fishes it out and reads the message from his brother.

 

 **SAM:** You really made me find out about you and Cas from a news article?

 

He winces when he reads it and holds out his phone so Cas can read it too.

“Well, that’s a problem we didn’t consider,” Cas says heavily. Silently, Dean agrees. It’s much different to lie to people at work they don’t really have relationships with outside of the office, but lying to his brother feels all kinds of wrong. Especially over something like this.

“Do you think I should just tell him the whole story?” Dean asks.

Whatever Cas was about to say gets interrupted by the ding of another incoming message. They both look down and read it together.

 

 **SAM:** About time the two of you got your heads out of your asses and realized you’re crazy about each other!

 

“Shit,” Dean comments, laughing nervously. “I guess I better tell him we’re just pretending.”

Cas drops his hand so fast Dean looks over at him in alarm.

“Right,” Cas says in a strangely closed off tone of voice. “See you tomorrow.”

Dean calls after him, but Cas doesn’t turn back. Instead, he gets into his car, slams the door, and speeds off before Dean can do a damn thing to stop him.

“That went well,” he says to himself, getting into the Impala and slamming his palms against the steering wheel in frustration. His phone dings to remind him he never responded to either of Sam’s messages, and knowing him, Sam’ll just keep texting if he doesn’t answer him, so he types out a quick response.

 

 **DEAN:** It’s kinda complicated. Landed a big account at work so I’m gonna be pretty busy the next little bit. I’ll catch you up as soon as I can.

 **SAM:** If you’re working with Charlie and don’t get me her autograph you’re dead to me!

 

Dean huffs as he reads it, then tosses his phone onto the passenger seat and heads home. Not that he expected to, but he doesn’t hear a word from Cas all night, not even when he sends him a funny meme he saw on Facebook. His phone shows Cas read it, but he didn’t reply.

He and Cas have never fought like this before, and while they’re not usually attached at the hip or anything, he feels especially lonely tonight knowing that he can’t just talk to Cas if he wants to. Cas is mad at him, and he doesn’t even know what he did to set him off, unless Cas doesn’t want him to tell Sam they’re not really dating. He can’t figure out why that would piss him off though, and it ends up taking forever to fall asleep that night because he can’t stop thinking about what he did to fuck up so bad.

After hours of tossing and turning and not coming up with a feasible answer, he starts to think about what he’s gonna do tomorrow to make it up to Cas instead.


	4. Chapter 4

Friday starts way too soon. He wakes up earlier than usual, wanting to stop at the stupid farmer’s market Cas is always yapping about to grab him some of the honey butter he’s obsessed with. While he’s there, he snatches a couple of muffins for their breakfast, then hits the Starbucks drive-thru for Cas’s favorite coffee (even though he prefers Dunkin Donuts), and walks into their office at Bradbury Enterprises with his hands full of goodies and his heart full of hope.

He deflates slightly when he sees Cas isn’t there yet.

He checks the clock and sees he’s still a few minutes early, so he takes a seat on the couch and digs into one of the muffins. It’s fuckin’ delicious. Cas still hasn’t showed up by 8:30 when they’re supposed to start work, and though he’s sure he would’ve heard a message come in if Cas had texted him, he checks his phone anyway to no avail. He decides to give him five more minutes before checking in on him.

He lasts three before he texts to see if he’s okay. He watches the screen anxiously, and he’s really starting to worry when it doesn’t change to _read_ ten minutes later. He’s now fifteen minutes late for work and that’s completely unlike him. He’s about to get up to go find Charlie when Cas comes hurrying into the room.

“Sorry I’m late,” Cas says.

Dean takes in his ruffled appearance with bemusement. Cas’s hair’s usually all over the place, yeah, but today it looks unintentional instead of artfully tousled. He’s wearing jeans and a wrinkled navy blue polo that hugs his biceps nicely (which is much different than the t-shirts he usually wears with jeans) and his face is covered in a dark shadow of scruff.

“You look like you slept about as well as I did,” Dean comments sadly.

“I overslept,” Cas mumbles.

“Got you coffee.”

“Thank god,” Cas moans, making a beeline for it. “The muffin for me, too?”

“The whole bag,” Dean tells him with pink cheeks.

Cas digs in and then flicks his gaze up to meet Dean’s. “You stopped at the farmer’s market?” Cas asks, giving him a freakin’ adorable smile.

“Yeah. Knew I pissed you off yesterday and wanted to say sorry with something I knew would butter you up,” he says, grinning over the perfect execution of the line he’d been working on in his head all morning.

“You didn’t have to do that, Dean. Thank you,” Cas says, his voice oddly quiet.

“I’m sorry, you know. For whatever I did that made you mad.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Cas answers. “I’m okay now. You said you didn’t sleep well. Are you alright?”

Dean shrugs. “Long as you’re not pissed at me and we’re still good with everything else, then yeah.”

“I’m good,” Cas promises. He smiles at him once more with a gentle look on his face before he grabs his muffin and his coffee and sinks into one of the office chairs.

Cas doesn’t have to say the exact words to let Dean know he’s forgiven. That smile has done it on its own. Feeling better than he has since yesterday afternoon, Dean lies back on the couch and gets comfortable. He starts going over what he’d worked on yesterday, but is distracted almost right away by the sound of a message coming in.

 

 **CAS:** Hi, Dean. It’s Zar. Can you tell Cassie he left his phone at my place this morning? Thanks, love!

 

Dean feels his blood run cold as Castiel’s disheveled appearance and well-fitted shirt suddenly makes perfect sense. Cas got dressed up to go out last night and ended up at Balthazar’s house. Balthazar's been Cas's on-again-off-again fuck buddy ever since Cas and his last boyfriend broke up right after Dean and Cas met. No fucking wonder his clothes are so wrinkled. They were probably in a heap on the floor all night while he was naked with Zar.

His stomach rolls with nausea when he gets a mental flash of Cas and Zar in bed together. Why the hell does the idea hurt so badly? He feels like somebody stabbed him right in the chest. There’s this aching hole inside of him where he used to have this... this _glow_ that he only got from being with Cas. That’s long gone now, and he has to blink away the moisture that’s burning in his eyes. Why the hell does it feel like he was just cheated on when he and Cas were never really together anyway? 

As soon as the word _cheating_ comes to mind, anger hits him like a Mack truck. How fucking dare Cas go over there last night when they’re supposed to be dating? What if somebody saw him and it fucked up everything they have going on here with Charlie? How could he spend all day kissing him and then fuck somebody else the same night? He has to take several deep breaths and is forced to wait until he feels like his voice will come out mostly even.

“That message was from Zar. Guess you left your phone there.” Turns out he was wrong - his voice didn’t come out even at all. Instead, it’s rough as sandpaper and vibrating with anger. Fury only doubles inside of him when Cas looks over at him before ducking his head guiltily. “While I was at the farmer’s market tryin’ to make up for pissing you off, you were getting a late start because you were fucking another guy. Real fucking nice, Cas.”

Castiel gets to his feet, and storms over to the door where he closes and locks it. Dean hears his phone ding again but turns the sound off and tosses it onto the couch.

“Don’t you talk to me like that,” Castiel says immediately, his voice hard and firm. “I didn’t _ask you_ to go to the farmer’s market, and what I do with Zar or anybody else is none of your business.”

Another shot of pain twists uncomfortably in his stomach as the truth of those words sink in and he works to hide his wince. “Yeah, well maybe you should tell your boyfriend not to fucking text me about it then.”

“Why shouldn’t ‘my boyfriend’ text you, Dean? You and I are just best friends, right?” Cas asks with a flurry of emotions swirling in his eyes.

“The hell if I know!” Dean explodes with. “The best friend I thought I knew would never spend the night at some other guy’s house when he’s supposed to be dating me.”

“We’re _pretending_ Dean, remember? You said so yourself yesterday.”

The idea that Cas has only pretended to enjoy being close to him - that he _pretended_ every time they kissed and every time he looked at him the way he started to - hits him like a slap in the face and causes his heart to sink like a stone in his stomach.

“Tell that to the Daily Mail and everybody else then!” Dean says angrily. “Because you’re not gonna fake cheat on me and drag my name through the mud because you can’t keep your dick in your pants for five damn days. I’m not just gonna sit here and let you fuck other people when we’re pretending to be together.”

“You’re not going to _let me?_ ” Castiel repeats. “You don’t own me, Dean.”

“Good fucking thing if this is how you’d treat me,” Dean tosses back. “You go from kissing me all damn day to fucking _him_ a few hours later?” He has to swallow down the dryness in his throat before his voice cracks. “Thanks but no thanks. I think I’ll pass. Consider yourself fake broken up with.”

Cas flinches as if he were sucker punched before his eyes turn cold.

“Fine. Deal with Anna on your own, then,” he says in a hoarse whisper.

“I’d much rather deal with her right now than you, so yeah, I think I will.”

Cas gets to his feet, grabs his coffee and stalks back to the door. “I’m leaving.”

“Say hi to Balthazar for me,” Dean calls after him, and winces when the door slams behind him.

God dammit! He’s on his feet angrily pacing in the next second. He still can’t believe Cas would do that to him! And to be completely unapologetic about it, too? What a fucking dick! It’s like he didn’t care that he hurt him at all! He just shoved the whole _pretending_ thing in his face like a bomb and let it explode without a warning.

He lasts ten minutes making agitated laps around the office before he shoves it all down, screws the cap on tight like a bottle, and decides to get back to work. Cas might not give a shit about the project they’re supposed to be working on, but this could really launch his career and he needs to focus on that instead of Cas right now.

He powers through until lunchtime, although admittedly he does get sidetracked a few times and finds himself staring off into space while he thinks about what a freakin’ dick Cas turned out to be. And god, it still fucking _hurts_ when he thinks about how he kinda thought he was starting to develop feelings for the guy. It’s a good thing Cas showed his true colors before he fell any harder. He can’t afford to get all fucked up over another guy like he has before.

Thankfully, since things didn’t go any further than kissing, once they both take the weekend to cool off they should at least be able to be civil with each other. He still wants Cas to work on this with him, even if he was a shitty fake boyfriend. He knows he wouldn’t have even gotten the job in the first place if it weren’t for Cas.

He stays in his office for lunch and eats what’s left of Cas’s muffin. For once in his life, he isn’t even hungry and only eats it because it’s there glaring at him. He works through his lunch hour because it’s better to bury himself in work and not think about the way his stomach is still twisting every time he thinks of Cas.

It’s around three when Charlie and Jack stop by to check in, and they’re both immediately concerned when Cas isn’t there.

“Where’s Castiel?” Jack asks, his eyebrows pinched together.

“Oh, he uh, wasn’t feelin’ too good so he took off early,” Dean lies. “It’s okay though, I promise I’m workin’ hard enough for the both of us,” he says, wanting to cover for them both.

“I’m not worried about that,” Charlie says with a wave. “Is Castiel okay, though?”

Honestly, he doesn’t really care all that much at the moment, but he can’t exactly _say_ that. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“You haven’t talked to him?” Charlie questions.

Shit. “No, not since this morning.”

“You should check on him,” she says earnestly.

Dean shrugs it off. “He’d let me know if he needed anything.”

“Do you mind if I check in with him then? I’d like to know how he’s doing before I take off for the weekend.”

Dean rubs at the back of his neck nervously. Who knows what Cas would tell Charlie about why he’s not there? He doesn’t want to talk to Cas, but he also doesn’t want Cas to blow the cover he created for them. “Nah, I’ll do it, just a sec.”

He reaches into his pocket for his phone before realizing it isn’t in there. He whirls around looking for it, and on his third turn around, he sees it sticking out between the side of the couch and a cushion. He hasn’t even touched it since Zar texting him this morning.

When he picks it up, his heart skips a beat when he sees there’s a message from Cas time stamped right around the time he stormed out. He doesn’t open it, but the preview says, “I’m going to delete this after I send it...” and his throat runs dry again just wondering what the hell the rest of that message is going to say. He knows he can’t read it in front of Charlie and Jack, that’s for damn sure.

“Yeah, there’s a message from him,” he says truthfully. “He’s feeling a bit better than he was this morning.”

“Oh, good!” Charlie breathes in relief. “Now that we know both halves of the dream team are alive and well, I just wanted to stop in to say I’ve been keeping an eye on your progress digitally, and I love the direction you’re going in. I can see the research you’ve been doing about similar ad campaigns, and I know you’re probably going to get sick and tired of hearing me say this - but I seriously love the way your mind works, man.”

Dean smiles at the compliment. “Nah, never gonna get tired of that. Thanks, Charlie.”

She hands him a card. “Here’s my cell. If you wanna hang out or something this weekend, me and Jo would totally be down for a double date. No business stuff. Just the four of us hanging out. We both thought you and Cas were a blast on Wednesday, and that was a business dinner.”

He nods but can’t quite meet her eyes. “It’ll all depend on how Cas is feeling. But I’ll let you know.”

“Awesome. Tell Cas we say hi when you see him!”

“You bet. Have a good weekend,” Dean tells them both, then he’s finally left alone to see what the message from Cas has to say.

 

 **CAS:** I’m going to delete this after I send it so Cassie doesn’t see, but whatever the two of you were fighting over yesterday really had him in a state. It’s a good thing I ran into him at the bar because he didn’t even make it back to my place before he passed out. Whatever he was mumbling about... being the only one not pretending?... had him fighting back tears. You better work it out because the next guy who picks him up might not be as nice as I was.

 

Dean reads the message three times before the reality of the situation sinks in: Cas didn’t go looking for Zar. He didn’t fuck him, he didn’t fake cheat on him, and he only slept at Zar’s place because he passed out. He didn’t spend the day kissing him and the night in another man’s bed. He wasn’t getting fucked when Dean was shopping for him at the farmer’s market - he was probably puking his guts out.

Cas was mumbling about being the only one not pretending.

Understanding hits him like a lightning bolt. Is _that_ why Cas was so pissed yesterday? Because Dean brought up the fact that they were supposed to be pretending even though he hadn’t really been pretending all day? Maybe - _fuck_ \- maybe it hurt Cas just as much as it hurt him when he thought about Cas not meaning any of the shit they’ve been doing together?

Son of a bitch. How could he be so stupid!?

Why didn’t he take a freaking second and _ask Cas_ about what he was doing at Zar’s house before just accusing him of sleeping with him behind his back?

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. He was such a colossal asshole. He was mean, and even worse than that, he was mean on purpose. God. If he thought he felt like shit earlier, it’s nothing compared to how absolutely miserable he feels now.

“Dean, I forgot to -” Jack stops midway through his sentence and starts over. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s Cas,” he blurts.

“Is he alright?” Jack asks, obviously concerned.

“I, uh, I dunno. I fucked up real bad, man,” Dean admits.

Jack raises his eyebrows in surprise, then, very seriously says, “Then you should apologize. Apologizing when you make a mistake is always the best thing to do.”

“I’m gonna have to get him to talk to me first,” Dean discloses.

“Something tells me he won’t hold a grudge against you,” Jack says with a small smile.

“Yeah. Hopefully not. Thanks,” Dean says, flopping back into his chair.

“What are you doing?”

Dean frowns. “Working? I still got another hour and twenty minutes until go time.”

“You worked through your lunch, didn’t you?” Jack asks, head tilted to the side.

“Yeah, but -”

“Go take care of Castiel. Charlie won’t mind, I promise.”

He wavers. “I don’t want it to look like I’m not taking this seriously. This job and working for you and Charlie is important to me.”

“So is love,” Jack says simply. “Go.”

Dean can almost feel the blood drain from his face.

 _Love?_ Is he in love with Cas? Then he shakes his head. That’s ridiculous. You can’t fall in love in five days.

“Go,” Jack says again, and Dean figures that he can freak out about how he might or might not feel about Cas on the way to his house just as well as he can standing in his office.

“Thanks man, I owe you one.”

“Have a good weekend!” Jack calls after him as he races down the hallway.

Already lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t even bother to respond. He just gets into his car and drives to Cas’s place as quickly as he possibly can. He knows he’s going to have to apologize, but unfortunately he also knows that when Cas gets mad, he gets _really_ mad. The hardest part is going to be getting Cas to talk to him at all.

He kills the engine when he pulls into Cas’s driveway behind his Lincoln and tries to take a calming breath. He hadn’t figured out a strategy on the way here, and now he has no idea what he’s going to do except for hope Cas answers the door so he can tell him that was an idiot.

He gets out of the car and walks to Cas’s front door, nervously lifting his hand to knock. He knows there’s no way Cas wouldn’t hear the roar of his Baby pulling in, so when he doesn’t answer right away, he starts thinking the worst. Cas isn’t even going to speak to him. He’s gonna have to camp out here on the front step to ambush him whenever he decides to come out. He’ll wait all fucking night if he has to. 

He knocks again anyway, harder this time, but when he listens for Cas’s footsteps through the door he can just barely hear music playing.

Relief floods through him when he realizes Cas wouldn’t hear his Baby _or_ his knock over the music. Maybe he does want to talk to him after all.

Even so, he hesitates. He’s walked into Cas’s house a hundred times before without knocking, but he feels weird about doing it now. Apparently he’s desperate enough that he tries the door knob anyway, and once he finds it unlocked, he pushes it open and yells, “Hello?”

The music stops a few seconds later, so he calls out again, “Cas?”

Cas comes walking down the hallway towards him wearing black sweatpants and a stretched out t-shirt he recognizes from his alma mater.

“What are you doing here?” Cas asks him. He doesn’t sound mad at all. No, it’s even worse than that. Dean’s heart squeezes painfully when he hears how nasally Cas’s voice is. It’s the same way he sounds when he has a cold and his nose is all stuffed up. Agony and regret fills him when he realizes Cas must have been crying. Cas isn’t pissed at him, he’s hurt, and it turns out that is way, _way_ worse.

“Cas, I’m so fucking sorry,” he says softly.

“I don’t want to talk to you right now. Please leave.”

He sounds so resigned, like he gave up on caring hours ago, and Dean _has_ to make him stop sounding like that.

“Cas, don’t,” Dean begs. “Lemme talk. I know I fucked up. I was a major dick and I’m so, so sorry.”

Cas sighs loudly, then just turns away and walks back into his house where he came from. Not knowing if that’s permission to follow or not but deciding it’s better than being asked to leave a second time, he kicks off his shoes and follows him down the hallway to find laid Cas flat on the couch.

Without thinking, Dean gets down on the ground beside him.

Now that he’s closer, it’s not hard to see that Cas looks like he’s spent the majority of the day crying... even if Cas won’t look at him. His eyes are bloodshot and the skin all around them and around his nose is red and puffy. Just seeing him like this causes more pain in his chest than he can ever remember feeling. Knowing that _he did this -_ he hurt Cas like this - is fucking torture, and he’s suddenly terrified that he ruined everything between them forever.

“Do you hate me?” he whispers, already steeling himself for the potential answer that he knows could break him.

“Do you hate me?” Cas echoes.

Dean shakes his head emphatically. “No! No, I don’t hate you at all. You didn’t even do anything. This was all on me, Cas. It was all my fault.”

“That’s not entirely true,” he says quietly. “Nothing happened with Zar, Dean. I didn’t go there to have sex with him. I should’ve just told you. I don’t even know how he got me home. I... I drank so much I passed out.”

“That was my fault, too,” Dean tells him. “You only did that ‘cause I - I hurt you. I didn't mean to. I just -”

“No, it wasn’t your fault,” Cas cuts him off. “You didn’t have all of the information. It was my choice to deal with... everything... that way, and then when you got mad at me this morning I didn’t correct your assumption and just made everything worse.”

“I shoulda asked you instead of jumping the gun. I was so fucking hurt, and then I started seeing red and I couldn’t even think straight,” Dean tries to explain. “I know I shouldn’t’ve talked to you like that. I’m sorry I was such a dick, Cas.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I was a dick, too,” Cas says quietly.

Cas has a lock of hair stuck to his forehead, and Dean finds himself tentatively reaching out to push it back where it goes gently. Cas leans into his touch, Dean’s hand slides down to cup his face, and for a split second everything feels right again. Right until Cas closes his eyes as if he’s in pain.

“Dean,” Castiel croaks. “I can’t - I can’t do this anymore.”

Dean frowns and pulls his hand away, trying to pretend like that doesn’t hurt. “Yeah. Probably not a good idea to keep this up if we’re not in front of people, right?”

“No. I mean I can’t do the fake dating thing at all anymore. I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it, but I can’t.”

“Oh,” Dean says, clearing his throat awkwardly as pain lances through him. “Right. I get it.”

“I don’t think you do,” Cas says quietly.

“Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out I fucked up,” Dean says bitterly. “I showed you what a dick I can be and fake broke up with you over nothing, and now you don’t wanna be like that anymore.”

“No,” Cas disagrees, sitting up suddenly and running his hands through his already wild hair. “I just - I can’t keep pretending that I’m pretending with you.”

Dean’s heart thumps almost painfully in his chest as he tries to make sense of those words. “What?”

Cas’s head is tipped down and his shoulders are slumped in defeat, but he looks right at him through those long dark eyelashes and whispers, “I’ve had romantic feelings for you for years.”

 _“What?”_ Dean says again. His voice probably comes out way too loud because he can barely hear over the roar of his heartbeat thudding in his head.

“And I can’t keep acting like I’m pretending when in reality it’s _killing me_ every time you touch me because I’ve been wanting you to - to -” he lifts his hand to gesture to his hair “- brush your hands through my hair like you did a second ago for the last two and a half years. And now you finally are and it doesn’t even mean anything, and it’s  _killing me_ _!"_

“You - you shoulda told me to stop,” Dean says breathlessly. It’s the only thing he can think to say. He doesn’t want to do anything to hurt Cas. He’s the best friend he’s ever had.

Cas’s voice comes out in a whisper, like he’s afraid to really say what he’s saying out loud, and whispering might make it less real or something. “I didn’t want you to stop, Dean. I just wanted you to mean it.”

“I did,” Dean says, matching his quiet tone.

Castiel shakes his head in disbelief. “Not the way I wanted you to.”

“I sure as shit did,” Dean argues. Cas pins him with a look so full of incredulity that he rephrases. “Okay, not right away. I was too freaked out by all the touching and why it kept making me feel stuff that I never felt for you before, but once I got used to it... I, well, I kinda liked it.”

Now it’s Cas’s turn for his eyes to be slightly wider than usual. “You did?”

Dean nods and pushes himself up off of the floor and onto the couch beside Cas. “Was easy, you know? Felt... right.”

“Really?”

Dean nods. “It felt nice whenever you had your hand on my back, and I, uh, actually liked kissin’ you. Wanted to do it more, actually,” he says with a wry smile. “Why do you think I kept kissing you even when nobody else was around?”

“I - I thought you kept forgetting like you said.”

“Honest mistake the first time, but it turns out I just liked it and didn’t care after that.”

Cas swallows hard. “But even still, liking kissing me and having feelings for me isn’t the same thing. I couldn’t handle holding your hand without you returning my feelings. I’m certainly not going to be able to do anything _else.”_

“Dude, I’m not suggesting friends with benefits here,” he laughs nervously.

“I’m just making myself clear.”

“Kay, well let me be clear too, then I guess,” Dean says, and Cas nods. “I liked dating you. Even if you take away the fake part, I woulda liked it. I did like it.”

“You - liked it - oh. _Oh,”_ Cas says slowly, understanding and hope bringing that light back to his eyes for a few glorious seconds before he swallows hard and schools his expression back into something more serious. “So what are you saying exactly?”

Fear of rejection makes him choke on what he really wants to say. Instead, he checks, “Well first of all I gotta know that you ain’t still mad at me, and that you don’t really think I’m an asshole.”

“I’m not mad at you,” Cas says. “I understand a lot more now about why you reacted the way you did when you thought I was with Zar  _like that._  If you really weren’t pretending to enjoy the more than friends aspect to us spending time together, then you must have felt betrayed.”

“I wasn’t pretending,” Dean says again, silently agreeing with the betrayal part.

“Don't take this in a bad way, Dean. You _are_ still a bit of an asshole, but you’re trying,” Cas answers, smiling genuinely for the first time since Dean got there. “And I always liked that about you anyway - at least when it wasn’t aimed towards me.”

“Guess I can’t ask for more than that,” Dean says, smiling back. Then nerves hit him again when he realizes he’s about to lay all his cards on the table. Cas could still turn him down. “So, I guess what I’m saying then... is that I wouldn’t be against it if you wanted to try dating for real.”

Cas’s smile spreads quickly, and it’s one of those new smiles that he only started seeing in the last few days. All soft and cute as hell, and this time when he feels warmth inside of him, he doesn’t question it or try to fight it, he just responds with a smile of his own that he imagines looks just as soft as Cas’s does right now.

“Really?” Castiel says again, voice filled with hope.

“No, Cas, I’m fucking with you,” Dean says sarcastically. “Yes, really. I _like_ you, okay?” he admits shyly.

“That’s too bad,” Cas replies, folding his arms across his chest. “I changed my mind when you were mean again.”

“Oh, screw you,” Dean laughs easily, knowing Cas is joking.

“Maybe I’ll reconsider if you say something nice.”

Dean snorts with laughter. “You son of a bitch.” Castiel laughs - he almost _giggles,_ if a guy with a voice as low as his could - and as happiness explodes inside of him, he comes to the conclusion that two can play at this game. “Okay, fine. When you got all possessive over Anna and kissed me like that, you were so fucking hot that I got a little hard right in the middle of the restaurant.”

What Dean now recognizes as desire flashes in Castiel’s eyes. His pink tongue darts out to lick his lips while his gaze drops to Dean’s. He bites down on his bottom lip before he raises his eyes back to Dean’s and says, “You really are an asshole.”

“But you like me anyway?” Dean asks, grinning while he reaches over to slot their fingers together.

“Despite my better judgement,” Castiel confirms, also smiling.

“I’ll take it,” Dean says happily. “So uh, do you wanna hang out?”

Castiel laughs quietly. “Yeah, I do. Um, would you mind waiting while I shower and clean up a bit? I think I’d feel more like myself that way.”

“If you want. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

“Okay,” Cas nods. “I’ll be right back.”

Cas starts to get up, but Dean tugs him back by his hand before he can. Cas falls onto the couch pressed up against him, and Dean wiggles his eyebrows, grabs the front of his shirt and says, “Come ‘ere first.”

Cas smiles shyly but allows himself to be pulled in, and then for the first time without any bullshit pretend reason between them, their lips meet. Dean lets himself relax into it and enjoys the way Cas’s mouth starts off soft and tentative at first, and then hums happily when Cas’s hand slides around the back of his neck and he kisses him more firmly. Cas’s lips are skilled and supple, and arousal shoots through him when Cas holds him in place and kisses him over and over as the intensity increases and builds between them with each meeting of their lips.

Cas pulls away first, but rests his forehead against Dean’s, breathing heavily.

“You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to do that for real,” Cas sighs.

“Now you can do it whenever you want,” Dean says simply.

Cas beams at him while he gets up and walks towards the bathroom, looking over his shoulder several times and smiling back when he sees Dean’s gaze following him before he disappears down the hall.


	5. Chapter 5

Dean knows it’s cliched and pathetic, but that doesn’t mean he can stop the smile that spreads on his face every time he thinks about spending the evening with Cas last night.

He was right to think that being more than friends with Cas would be easy. It had been just like any other night hanging out, except instead of being perched on opposite ends of the couch, they started off sitting right next to each other and holding hands. After they had dinner, they chose a movie on Netflix and Cas wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him in nice and close. Still not being totally used to cuddling like that, he fought the urge for about a half hour before he gave up and relaxed against him. Cas managed to be both soft and muscly, and as one movie turned into two, he somehow ended up basically lying on top of him with both of Cas’s arms wrapped around him, and he couldn’t stop smiling then either.

He’d left around eleven after a goodnight kiss at Cas’s door that left the both of them clinging to one another and panting when they finally pulled apart. If he’d been anybody _but_ Cas, Dean would’ve tried talking him into bed. He’d been seconds away from asking as it was, but he remembered Cas saying that he didn’t want to do it if feelings weren’t involved, and even now Dean has no idea what kinda feelings he really has for him.

Obviously he’s feeling a lot more than friendly. That warm feeling that spreads inside of him when he’s with Cas (or even when he thinks about him, apparently) is proof enough of that, but that’s as much as he’s got figured out right now.

That doesn’t stop him from still smiling over the text Cas sent him a few hours ago, though.

 

 **CAS:** Hello, Dean

 **DEAN:** Hey Cas. What’s up?

 **CAS:** Nothing really. I just wanted to tell you what a good time I had last night :)

 **DEAN:** Yeah? Me too

 **CAS:** Do you have any plans tonight?

 **DEAN:** Nope. What do you have in mind?

 **CAS:** May I take you out for dinner?

 **DEAN:** Like a date?

 **CAS:** If that’s okay with you, then yes. I would like that.

 **DEAN:** Probably not a huge shocker to you that I don’t exactly have a lot of experience with dates...

 **CAS:** Luckily for you, I already like you enough that you don’t have to worry about trying to impress me.

 **CAS:** Nothing fancy. Just dinner as usual where I get to kiss you at the end of the night :)

 **DEAN:** Guess I can’t say no to that. What time?

 **CAS:** I was thinking six. Usually I would offer to pick my date up, but because I know you’ll want to drive, you can pick me up about 5:50.

 **DEAN:** K see you then :)

 

So after completely overthinking what the hell he was supposed to wear on a not-fancy first date with his best friend turned boyfriend(?), he’s now standing in front of Cas’s door in a pair of dark jeans and a forest green plaid shirt left open with a black t-shirt underneath. He’s about to knock when Cas’s garden catches his eye. He grins to himself, bends over, and slices a single white flower free of the bunch with the small knife on his key chain utility tool, then knocks.

Cas opens the door wearing a pair of black jeans and a collared white shirt with blue stripes across the chest and a few buttons open at the neck. His hair is as crazy as ever, he’s freshly shaved, and even with the few feet between them Dean’s acutely aware that he smells good enough to eat. Exactly the same way he smelled at the dinner on Wednesday, and his scent memory makes his stomach clench.

“Dean Winchester,” Cas says, lips quirking. “Did you bring me a flower you just stole out of my own garden?”

“I might’ve,” Dean answers with a smile. “Does it still count for brownie points?” he asks, holding it out to him.

“It’s still adorable, so yes,” Cas says, happily burying his nose in the lone flower and peeking up at him through his eyelashes. “Thank you, Dean.”

Dean has to swallow down the lump that’s suddenly in his throat. Cas looks... gorgeous. His bright eyes seem bluer than ever against the white flower pedals in front of his face, and Dean wishes more than anything he could snap a picture of this moment.

“Hope you’re always this easily impressed,” Dean manages to say after a few seconds.

“I hope you’re always this sweet,” Cas shoots back. He turns to place the flower on the small table beside the door and says, “Shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s do this.” He blushes while he does it, but he opens the passenger door for Cas and then walks around the car to get in. “Where to?”

“The Roadhouse,” Cas answers with a toothy smile.

“Really?” Dean laughs, immediately relaxing and feeling more like himself.

“If that’s okay?”

“Hell yeah it’s okay,” Dean replies, backing out of the driveway. “Feels like a regular Saturday night.”

“Except I actually get to tell you how unfairly attractive you look tonight instead of just thinking it,” Cas says smoothly.

“Shut up, you weren’t always thinking that before.”

“Only every time I laid eyes on you,” Cas disagrees.

Dean huffs, embarrassed. “Alright, tone it down there Casanova.”

Cas chuckles. “I’m sorry if I’m coming on too strong.”

“No, that ain’t it. I’m just not used to hearing this kinda stuff. I told you what people usually say.”

“Kind of like the touching - perhaps you just need to get used to it?” Cas suggests.

“Yeah, probably.”

“I can handle that,” Cas says easily. “What did you do today?”

The rest of the drive passes with easy conversation, and then they walk into The Roadhouse and sit at a small booth in the back corner. They order their food and a beer each, and everything is as normal as every other time they’ve been out to eat before, except for the fact that their feet are tangled together under the table and neither of them can stop smiling.

He’s having such a good time by the time they’re finished eating that he reaches out to cover Cas’s hand on the table between them, and earns himself one of those soft smiles he likes so much from Cas as they argue playfully about how Dean came onto him the first time they met.

“I still don’t believe you,” Cas laughs.

“I’m serious! Don’t you remember the first thing I said to you?” Dean asks him.

Cas shrugs sheepishly. “I remember being so dumbfounded by how hot you were that I could barely make my mouth work.”

“You are so full of shit,” Dean argues.

“You’re one to talk!”

“I’m telling you! I had some chick hanging off of me, whispering all the dirty things she was gonna do to me later when I saw you standin’ there. You were leaning against the kitchen counter. You had your arms spread out behind you and your shirt was pulled up enough so I could see your hip bones, and I knew I _had_ to try to get in your pants.” Cas shakes his head like he doesn’t believe a word he’s saying, so he keeps going. “I told the chick I was with that I was gonna go get another drink and walked over to talk to you instead. It was cheesy, but it’d been working for me so far, so I said, ‘My buddies bet me I couldn’t get the hottest person in the room to talk to me. If you let me get you a drink you’d prove them wrong,’” Dean says, laughing at the memory.

“You did not!” Cas says, laughing with him.

“Listen, I’m not gonna lie. I’m fucking insulted you don’t remember that. That was one of my best lines!”

“Well, if it does anything to help your bruised ego, I’d let you get me a drink now,” Castiel replies.

“Only took three years, no big deal,” Dean teases.

“What _I_ remember is that you walked over and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from how sinful your bow legs looked in the tight jeans you had on,” Cas admits. “Then you talked and I’m pretty sure my brain stopped working as soon as I heard that southern drawl of yours. That must be why I don’t remember what you said.”

Dean scoffs, “Yeah, sure, Cas. That’s why you bailed on me as soon as that twink came over.”

 _“That twink_ was my boyfriend at the time, and you know damn well his name is Alfie,” Castiel reminds him. Dean does know, but he gets a sick satisfaction by making it sound like he’s so insignificant he can’t even remember his name. “You have no idea how much shit I got in for still giving you my number when he was standing right there.”

Dean laughs. “Yeah, I gotta give you credit for that. That was pretty ballsy.”

“I didn’t think it would take this long for it to pay off, but I suppose it did eventually.”

“You were seriously into me that whole time?” Dean asks.

“Yes.”

“The _whole time?”_ Dean asks again. “Even when Aaron fucked me over? And all the girls and guys I ran through after that? Bender after bender?”

“The whole time,” Cas confirms. “And I’ve never hated anybody as much as I hated him for what he did to you.”

Yeah, he was never very good at hiding that. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“You never looked at me like you were interested in me.”

“Because you never showed any interest in me!” Dean replies. “I only ever saw you with Alfie and Zar the whole time we’ve known each other, and I sure as fuck don’t look anything like them.”

Cas laughs humorlessly. “I only chose Zar _because_ he’s nothing like you. He’s the only person I’ve been with since I’ve known you because he didn’t want anything but sex, and I couldn’t offer anybody more than that when I was basically in love with my best friend.”

A pang of shock pulses through his entire body.

“In love?” Dean repeats.

The pink of Cas’s cheeks changes from pleasantly flushed to horrifically embarrassed, and then he shrugs his shoulders in defeat. “I waver on that from time to time, but I figure it’s a possibility, yes,” he confesses. “I’m sorry I came out with it like that. I know it’s a lot on a first date.”

“No shit,” Dean breathes shakily. It isn’t necessarily bad to hear (his heart kind feels like it’s bursting, to be honest) but he’s right that it’s a lot right off the bat like this.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Cas says quietly.

“Yeah, not for you! You already knew.”

“So... what?” Cas huffs. “Now that you know I love the person you are and enjoy spending time with you - which really shouldn’t be new information, by the way - now you don’t want to be with me anymore?”

“I didn’t say that, and loving who I am is not the same thing as being in love with me, and you freakin’ know it. I love who you are, too, and you’re my favorite person to spend time with aside from Sam.”

Castiel’s lips curve into a gummy smile before he presses his lips together into a straight line and asks, “Want me to pretend that doesn’t make me really happy so you can keep being mad at me?”

God, why does he have to be so damn adorable?

Dean shakes his head in exasperation. “I ain’t mad at you.”

“You seemed pretty mad a second ago.”

“Yeah, well, apparently I’ve got a soft spot for your stupid smile now.” Cas smiles again, softening him further and proving his point. “Dammit, Cas,” he sighs, smiling back despite himself.

“I still just want to date you, Dean. If you still want that.”

“You know I do. Now that I started lookin’ at you like this I don’t know how to go back to thinking of you as my annoying best friend,” Dean teases.

“I know it says something about me that this backhanded flirting of yours is making me so happy, but I’m not sure I want to know what it is,” Cas says.

Dean brushes his thumb over the back of his hand. “How about if I tell you you’re still the hottest person in the room tonight?” Dean asks, smiling cockily when Cas looks flustered by the compliment. “I know it’s not quite as smooth as the line I used three years ago, but it’s true. You look damn good, Cas.”

Apparently Cas has recovered, because he steals the breath out of him when he responds, “Good enough to get a little handsy when I try to beat you at pool in a minute?”

There’s a twist of desire low in his stomach at the idea of seeing Cas bending over the pool table for a shot, and he grins lavishly now. “Oh hell yeah.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Cas laughs. “Let’s play.”

Being the gentleman he is, he lets Cas break. It only takes actually seeing him bent over the first time with those dark jeans hugging the curve of his ass to let him know his imagination didn’t even come close to doing Cas justice. Cas’s torso is stretched out along the table, his biceps are bulging where he has himself braced on his elbows, and his shirt is hitched up enough to reveal those same damn hip bones that had him mesmerized three years ago and Dean can almost feel all his blood running south. Cas shoots him a cocky smile over his shoulder like he can tell exactly what Dean’s thinking and Dean knows he’s screwed.

He stays flustered and unable to think of anything other than Cas’s body for longer that he’d care to admit before he realizes that he can do the same thing to Cas. He starts playing dirty: holding the pool cue behind his back while he stretches his shoulders and flexes his biceps, bending his knees to put emphasis on the bow of his legs Cas likes so much, and ordering himself a second beer just so he can wrap his lips around the bottle and tip his head back with each swallow.

They’re pretty evenly matched when it comes to pool, so he’s surprised when Cas pulls the most obvious move in the book and offers to help him improve his shot after he misses one. He’s barely nodded his head before Cas is pressed up against him from behind. Cas puts pressure on his lower back and bends him over the table, then Dean’s mind goes blank when he can feel the distinct bulge of Cas’s cock nestled along the swell of his ass. Jesus Christ, it’s been years since he’s let anybody fuck him, and he’s turned on enough that he figures begging for it from Cas wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Then Cas’s breath is hot on his skin, and his voice rumbles low against his ear.

“You need to concentrate,” Cas says quietly. His hand covers Dean’s, slowly stroking his long, graceful fingers along his before adjusting his grip. “Not so tight.” Dean’s entire body loosens up and he feels Cas melt against him as he nuzzles into his neck. Goosebumps explode along his skin. “Just like that. Now watch me put it in.”

Dean’s breath hitches at his words, and Cas uses his advantage to line up and knock the ball into the corner pocket. Cas straightens up slowly, running his hands along Dean’s arms and down his back as he goes, and when Dean moves away to relinquish his turn he sees the predatory look in Cas’s eyes and barely bites back a whimper.

Cas takes his cue and sinks the remaining three balls one after another before he turns back to Dean, smiling wide. Was the fucker hustling him? “Looks like I win. Just let me go settle our bill and we can go.”

“Nuh-uh,” Dean says, working to clear his throat of the grit. “We can split.”

“Absolutely not,” Cas insists. “I asked you out, I’m paying.”

“I’m paying next time, then.”

“I like the sounds of that,” Cas smiles. “I’ll be right back.”

Dean leans against the nearest empty table and watches him across the room. Cas is so quiet a lot of the time that he sometimes forgets that he isn’t actually shy. He definitely underestimated how smooth the fucker could be on a date, and the semi he’s sporting in his jeans that refuses to be talked down is obviously his punishment. He knows Cas isn’t gonna want to hop in the sack tonight considering the feelings he has for him, so he’s already resigned to a bottle of lube and his fist later on to get the edge off. A fresh wave of arousal floods him when he thinks about all the material Cas gave him to think about later, and he has to take a deep breath to calm himself _again_ when Cas comes back over.

“You ready?” Cas checks.

“Born ready,” Dean answers, reaching for his hand. They walk out to the car and Dean drives Cas home. He gets out to open the car door for him and walks him to his front door, grinning at the way he feels a little nervous over the end of their date once they get there.

“What’re you smiling about?” Cas asks him, sliding his hands up his chest and around his neck.

“Just how I never thought I’d get all nervous like this at the idea of kissin’ you goodnight,” Dean answers honestly.

“I make you nervous?” Cas repeats, blushing.

“You kinda do,” Dean admits.

“Let’s see if I can help you with that,” Cas says, tilting his head back and closing his eyes in invitation.

Dean doesn’t hesitate even a moment before taking his lips in a searing kiss. Cas’s mouth opens immediately, and Dean licks inside eagerly as he wraps his hands around Cas’s waist and pulls him in nice and close. They fit together perfectly and Dean’s already steadily filling with the glow Cas makes him feel. He runs his hands up Cas’s back, feeling the hard muscle beneath his palms and moaning quietly into his mouth at just how firm he is. Cas makes an answering sound of pleasure, and in the next breath, he feels himself spun around and pressed against the door.

Cas swallows his gasp of surprise, slots his thigh between Dean's legs and rolls his hips forward. The intense thrill of Cas’s thickening erection pressing against him causes his head to spin and his knees to almost buckle completely.  

“Dean,” Cas gasps, breaking the seal of their mouths just to drag his lips across his jaw and back to his ear, drawing a full body shiver out of him. “You’re intoxicating.”

“Jesus Cas,” Dean sighs, overwhelmed with pleasure as Cas concentrates on a sensitive spot he found just beneath his earlobe.

Cas tenses for a split second before he wrenches himself away from Dean’s skin and looks into his eyes as if searching for something. Then he leans in and presses a gentle kiss to his lips. “Come inside with me,” he whispers.

Dean’s heart thumps so hard in his chest he’s surprised Cas can’t feel it. There’s no way to misunderstand what Cas is asking him here. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely positive.”

“Then hell yeah,” Dean answers eagerly, earning himself a huff of amused laughter from Cas as he steps away. Dean just stands there grinning at him, his head fuzzy with how bad he wants this.

“You’re going to have to move if you want me to get into my house,” Cas tells him, and Dean jumps out of the way laughing nervously.

“I think you fried my brain back at The Roadhouse,” Dean admits, wrapping his arms around Cas’s waist from behind and nuzzling into his neck while Cas tries to get the key in the lock with hands that are shaking.

“We’d be inside by now if you would stop doing that,” Cas complains, but he leans his head back against him and Dean takes his weight easily, humming happily against his skin as that glow makes him feel like he’s lighting up all over again. “God, Dean, if you knew how much I’ve thought about this.”

“Mmm,” Dean says, opening his mouth to leave a wet kiss behind his ear. “You’ll have to tell me all about it so I can give you everything you want.”

“Right now I want to get you in my house,” Cas says on a bit of a laugh. “Hands off for a second.”

Dean snickers but takes a step back so Cas can unlock his door. “Fucking finally,” Dean teases, and Cas gives him a little shove, making him laugh again as they both step inside to take off their shoes. He’s so damn happy with how they can go from making out to dicking around like they used to. Dean tosses his phone, wallet, and keys onto the table next to the flower he gave Cas, then Cas takes him by the hand and leads him to his bedroom.

“You always put out on the first date, Cas?” Dean asks him, making sure the joke is clear in his tone of voice.

“Never,” Cas answers. “You?”

“Always,” Dean says honestly, causing Cas to laugh. “Not like you didn’t know that already.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Cas answers, sounding less happy about this than he did a second ago.

As they walk into his bedroom, Dean stops him by tugging him back against his body. “It’s never been _like this_ on a first date, though.”

“What’s ‘like this’ mean?” Cas asks, already pushing Dean’s flannel over his shoulders and onto the ground.

“How it feels,” Dean answers, raising his hand to brush the backs of his fingers down Cas’s jaw. He’s unused to talking about this kind of thing but knows Cas needs to hear it. “I care about you. This isn’t like the other times, okay? This is just the start.”

“Thank you,” Cas breathes, happiness visible in his eyes before he closes them and pushes forward for another soft kiss so sweet it causes his insides to ache.

They pull apart and look at each other, both taking shallow, shaky breaths. Then, as if they come to the conclusion at the exact same time that they can’t possibly wait another second, Cas knocks Dean’s hand off of his face and pulls him down into a fiery and passionate kiss. Dean’s hands roam his body eagerly, sliding up the back of his shirt and searching for each dip and hard line of his damn near perfect physique. Cas turns them and begins backing Dean up towards his bed.

Dean’s got Cas’s shirt pushed up almost to his armpits, and Cas reaches down to pull it up off over his head entirely before diving back in for another kiss. Dean lets his hands continue to explore the expanse of his bare skin, running over the soft skin at his sides that transitions into hard muscle the higher he goes. Cas’s hands slide down Dean’s chest and around to his back before they drop down further and squeeze his ass firmly enough to get Dean up onto the balls of his feet, causing him to break the seal of their lips to gasp for breath. Cas grabs the hem of Dean’s shirt and Dean lifts his arms so he can tug it up over his head. Before he can do anything else, Cas pushes him back onto the bed and Dean lands with a whoosh.

Cas taking the lead has him hard and leaking (if the dampness on his boxers is anything to go by). He hasn’t managed to catch his breath yet when Cas wraps an arm around his waist and heaves him up until he’s in the middle of the bed where Cas straddles his lap and latches onto his bare chest. Dean tosses his head back with a desperate sound of pleasure when Cas licks over his left nipple. Obviously picking up on how much he’s loving it, Cas’s fingers tweak his other nipple while he licks, sucks, and tugs on the hard nub with his teeth. Dean runs his fingers through Castiel’s hair and his breath catches in his throat when Cas flicks his his eyes up to meet his.

“Fuck you’re gorgeous, Cas,” Dean breathes.

Cas whimpers as he begins kissing his way up Dean’s chest, slamming his lips back against his when he reaches them and pushing his tongue past the seam and delving inside ruthlessly. Dean runs his hands down the strong back he’s quickly becoming infatuated with and gets his hands on Cas’s ass, urging him to grind down on his rock hard cock. Cas’s lips stop working as he loses himself on a low moan and Dean takes control, licking into his mouth and sucking on the tip of his tongue as Cas rides his cock still encased in denim, driving Dean out of his fucking mind.

Seemingly coming back to himself, Cas starts a hot trail down his neck, stopping to suck on his collarbone and causing Dean to writhe beneath him. As the sweet sting sends a shock of pleasure straight to his cock, he thrusts upwards, blindly seeking friction and earning himself another sound from deep inside Castiel’s throat. Cas’s lips and tongue start moving down again, blazing a hot, wet trail down Dean’s chest and to his stomach where his nimble fingers flick open the button of his fly and lower the zipper on Dean’s jeans. Dean lifts his hips in invitation, and Castiel pulls his jeans down completely and tosses them onto the floor. Dean sits up, urges Cas onto his knees, and gets his mouth on his strong chest while he works on undoing his pants, too. Cas moves his big hands through Dean’s short hair tenderly, holding his head close to his skin so Dean couldn’t stop tasting him even if he wanted to.

Feeling much less patient than Cas seems to be, he pushes down his boxers and jeans all in one go, and leans back onto the bed when Cas releases him to finish pulling his pants off one leg at a time. Dean takes the chance to take in the sight of his best friend’s bobbing cock: long and thick, flushed red and glistening at the tip.

“I think it’s safe to say our friendship’s officially ruined,” Dean quips as he reaches up to take him into his hand, swiping his thumb over the wetness at the tip and grinning at the choked off sound of pleasure he elicits from Castiel.

Cas yanks Dean’s boxers down impatiently, then spreads Dean’s legs and lowers his body down on top of him, expertly slotting their cocks together.

“You feel amazing,” Cas sighs, his voice coming out so fucking deep.

Dean’s eyelids flutter as he feels the hard line of Castiel’s cock surrounded by hot, smooth skin pressed against him, and he spreads his legs to give Cas more room. Cas braces himself on his elbows and crushes their lips together all over again.

After opening his mouth for Cas, the combination of the perfect curl of his tongue and the first thrust of their hard cocks together obliterates every thought from his mind. His remaining brain cells drive him to touch and learn as much of Cas’s body as he can. His head is spinning. He’s lost in a haze of _want_ so thick he barely knows who he is. He savours every touch of Castiel’s lips, the roll of his hips, the smell of his cologne pressed so close to his face, and the quickening of his breath that matches the intensity growing within him.

Cas pulls away again to set fire to his throat with that fucking mouth of his.

“Tell me what you want, Dean,” he gasps.

“You,” Dean says instantly. “More.”

Cas makes a low sound against his skin and ruts against him with more pressure. “I want - please Dean, will you let me -”

“Anything,” Dean answers for him.

“I want to be inside of you.”

“Fuck yes,” Dean groans.

“God, you’re perfect,” Castiel murmurs, pressing their lips together firmly but chastely before he reaches over to rifle through his nightstand. Dean surges upwards to get his mouth on his bare chest again, and mouths over to one of his nipples to lap at it until Cas comes away with a condom and lube. “Roll over for me,” Cas asks him, and Dean complies immediately.

He’s expecting it when he feels Cas’s mouth warm on his skin, and he sinks into the mattress bonelessly while Cas works his way across both shoulder blades and down his spine, cherishing every inch of his skin while he goes. “You’re so beautiful, Dean.”

Dean feels his cheeks heat up from the compliment at the same time his insides fill with that warmth again.

“Inside and out. Every inch of you. Even better than I thought you’d be,” Cas continues, mouthing over the swell of his ass cheeks.

“Cas,” Dean breathes, mind completely blank except for thoughts of Cas and how good it feels everywhere he touches him.

“Can I taste you?” Cas asks, parting his cheeks with his thumbs.

Dean nods enthusiastically as his heart thunders in his chest and anticipation twists in his stomach.

“I’m going to need to hear you say yes, Dean,” Castiel says firmly.

“Yes,” Dean croaks. “Yes,” he says again. “A thousand times yes.”

“So perfect,” Castiel says again, and in the next breath Dean’s body goes taut as he feels the first wet swipe of Castiel’s tongue across his hole.

“F-fuck,” he stutters, his fingers tightening in the sheets under him.

Cas hums appreciatively before he urges him up. Dean scrambles onto his knees, and then Cas spreads his cheeks once more and dives in. He licks around his sensitive skin before sealing his mouth over his opening and swirling his tongue around expertly. He lets it drag slow and wet, causing his nerve endings to sing with pleasure and desire to pool steadily between his legs where his cock bobs heavy and throbbing. Cas increases the pressure of his tongue slowly but steadily, and soon he’s pressing inside bit by bit, making Dean’s skin spark with satisfaction at every swipe.

When Cas spears his tongue inside the first time, Dean rocks back instinctively to chase the sensation, and Castiel’s fingers tighten on his ass while he groans. One hand comes up to stroke lovingly at his back, and taking that as approval, he does it again and again. He closes his eyes and rides Cas’s face as best he can to get him exactly where he wants him, increasing his pleasure tenfold.

He can’t keep silent now. Cas is eating his ass so fucking good and he hears himself moaning and gasping. He’s so fucking eager for every touch from Cas that he feels like he’s going to die without it. He bites down hard on his bottom lip to try to keep quiet, but Cas introduces a hint of teeth and he calls out louder than ever.

“Ah!” Dean shouts. “Please, Cas! _Fuck.”_

“Tell me what you need,” Castiel answers him.

“Need you to fuck me sometime _today,”_ Dean whines.

“You made me wait three years, Dean. Surely you can wait another ten minutes,” Cas comments, humor audible in his voice as he runs a single digit along his crack.

“You son of a bitch,” he pants.

Cas chuckles darkly behind him, but he hears the flick of the lube cap opening and relaxes instantly, knowing he’s about to get exactly what he wants. “I had no idea you’d be such a needy bottom, Dean. So much better than even my dirtiest fantasies.”

“Haven’t been fucked in so long, Cas. I need it,” he admits. “I need you.”

“Why not?” Cas asks, circling a slickened finger around his hole and making Dean’s brain blank out again.

“Need - need trust. Feelings. It’s uh -” Cas pushes the tip of his finger inside and Dean squeezes his eyes closed tight as he tries to focus on relaxing for him. “- it’s _a lot_ to let somebody inside. Even though I fuckin’ love it.”

“And you want to share that with me?”

“Yeah,” Dean breathes. “Want you so damn bad, Cas.”

“It’s been a very long time,” Cas guesses, slipping the rest of his finger inside. “You’re incredibly tight.”

 _“Yes,_ god,” Dean gasps, arching his back with pleasure.

“How long?”

“Years,” Dean grits out.

“Has anybody fucked you since we’ve met?” Cas asks, his voice low and rough.

“No.”

Cas _growls_ his name possessively - somehow making it sound just like he’s saying ‘mine’ all over again - and Dean feels a shiver work through his body.

Cas preps him quickly but carefully after that, inserting another finger and stretching him open thoroughly. Cas feels around until he finds his prostate, making Dean rut into the bed underneath him as he calls out when he finds it, but then Cas avoids it completely after that and leaves Dean coiled tight as a spring even as his ass opens for him easily.

By the time Cas turns him over onto his back again, Dean’s so fucking horny he can hardly see straight. His cockhead is wet with precum and as he watches Cas roll on the condom, he reaches up to stroke himself to take the edge off. He whimpers when he wraps his hand around himself, and watches raptly as Cas spreads lube onto his own cock with the same thick fingers he just had buried inside of him. Dean’s cock twitches in his hand and he knows he’s already dangerously close to coming. He squeezes the base of his cock tight and closes his eyes so he doesn’t have to see how fucking hot Cas looks with his dick in his hand.

“Jesus, Dean. I’ve never seen anything so sexy in my entire life,” Cas tells him.

Dean opens his eyes to peak and smirks at the look of reverence all over Cas’s face. “Guess I was worth the wait, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Cas says, spreading Dean’s legs and moving until the backs of Dean’s legs are braced against his thick thighs. Cas positions himself so the head of his cock is nudging against his hole, and Dean’s eyes slip closed again in anticipation.

“No. Look at me,” Cas demands. Dean’s eyes flutter open and he meets Castiel’s eyes, which are darker than he’s ever seen them. “I’ve waited so long for this, and I want to see you when I push inside of you for the first time.”

“Fuck _\- do it!”_

Their eyes are still locked when Cas presses into him, dual sounds of ecstasy spilling from both of them. Dean’s jaw drops in unprecedented pleasure as he feels Cas’s huge fucking cock continuing to split him open inch by inch as an expression of euphoria blooms on Cas’s face. His eyes are incredibly soft though, and even if Cas said he doesn’t know for sure, Dean knows absolutely just based on his expression that Cas is love with him.

Instead of the fear he felt before, as Cas continues to slide inside of him, he feels like he just found the missing piece of himself he’s been looking for his entire life and he can’t seem to catch his breath. When Cas bottoms out, his eyes fill with how perfectly complete he feels locked together with Cas, his chest is so overfull with warmth he feels like he’s going to burst.  

“Cas,” he gasps harshly, suddenly desperate to hear him say it. “Castiel. Please. Tell - tell me.”

“Dean? Are you alright?” Castiel grits from between clenched teeth.

Dean shakes his head no. No, of course he’s not okay. He’s having a fucking epiphany mid-sex with his best friend, but when Cas’s eyes widen with fear and he tries to pull out, Dean hooks his legs around his waist and moans when he sinks in even further.

“C’mere,” Dean begs.

Cas carefully lowers himself down onto him and as soon as Dean can reach, he kisses him tenderly, framing his face with his hands and brushing a hand through his hair as everything suddenly becomes crystal clear.

Of course he loves Cas, too.

How could he not have known? Cas, the headstrong and sassy son of a bitch who isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with him in an argument and wins just as often as he loses. The man who was willing to do whatever it took in order to keep Dean out of an awkward situation. The man who believes in him and his work more than anybody else in his life. The man who would drop anything and everything to be by his side in a heartbeat. The best friend he’s ever had who’s already given him some of the best sex he’s ever had, and they haven’t even started moving yet.

Dean knows sex isn’t the right place to say it for the first time, but he’s never been the kinda guy who follows the rules, so when it’s time for their lips to part just so they can breathe, he says it anyway.

“Turns out I’m in love with you, too.”

Castiel’s eyes go from heavily lidded with desire to comically wide in a heartbeat. “What?”

“I love you,” Dean says simply.

 _“Really!?_ You tell me _now?”_ Castiel complains.

“I’m classy like that, what can I say?” Dean smirks.

Castiel laughs, bends down to kiss him again and smiles while he says, “I love you, too, you idiot.”

Dean’s smile is so big he feels like it’s going to split his face. “Good. Now show me your best moves.”

“You are unbelievable,” Castiel says, shaking his head fondly at him.

Dean bounces his eyebrows, and that’s the moment Cas pulls out halfway to thrust back inside of him, wiping the smug smile right off his face. “Again,” Dean breathes.

Cas complies, thrusting again and making Dean’s eyes drift closed in ecstasy. Fuck, he missed this. He missed the burn of his ass stretching for a warm cock, missed the way he feels like he’s finally full every time Cas’s cock is sheathed completely inside of him, missed the way it feels to have bliss pounded into him with every thrust. It feels so impossibly good and he was already so fucking turned on before they even started that he knows he’s not going to last, and he wants it so bad he doesn't even care.

“Don’t stop,” he begs Cas.

“Couldn’t if I wanted to,” Cas promises, finding a rhythm and punching the breath out of Dean with each snap of his hips. “You feel so good, Dean. So unbelievably good.”

“Mmm yeah,” Dean agrees, sliding his hands down to grab his ass again, pulling him in to find the exact angle he needs so his next thrust nails his prostate. “Cas!” he calls. “Like that, _please.”_

 _“Dean,”_ Castiel rasps, burying his face in the crook of his neck. “God, I love you.”

Happiness rolls through him, increasing his pleasure impossibly more even as Cas keeps pistoning his hips in and out, flying him higher and higher each time he connects with his sweet spot.

“Harder,” Dean urges him. “Wanna feel you, Cas.”

Cas makes that growling sound again that goes straight to his cock, and drives into him over and over with a slick slap of skin on skin that’s arousing all on its own.

“Ah! S-so good,” Dean stutters.

“Gonna fuck you so good -"

 _“Yeah,”_ Dean agrees instantly.

“- I ruin you for everybody else,” Cas promises. "Until you're _mine."_

“Please,” Dean gasps, knowing he’s almost there. “Keep going. I’m close. I’m gonna - Jesus. Gonna come.” Cas bites down on the meat of his shoulder and Dean calls out again. _“Cas!”_

“God I love hearing you scream my name,” Cas admits breathlessly.

“Cas,” Dean moans again. “Castiel. Please.”

“Not yet,” Cas grits out, grinding deep inside of him but stilling his hips.

Dean groans unhappily, so close that he’s desperate with the need to come. He uses his body weight to roll them over and sinks down all the way onto Castiel’s cock in one smooth movement. This time it’s Cas’s turn to throw his head back, calling out wordlessly as Dean rises up again and takes him in once more. He braces himself on Cas’s chest and starts bouncing on his cock, making sure he hits his prostate exactly how he likes it each time. He gasps when he feels Castiel’s fingers teasing his hole where they’re slotted together and the heat building in his stomach is enough to let him know he’s teetering on the edge of his orgasm now.

“You’re _beautiful,”_ Castiel breathes. “I’ve never seen anything so breathtaking.”

He whines low in his throat at his praise and gyrates his hips in a fast and dirty dance. He bounces and then grinds down on top of Cas to match his every thrust, and he’s so damn close he can feel his body starting to lock up in anticipation. He tilts his head back, riding Cas for every second of ecstasy he can possibly drag out of him. Castiel’s hands clamp down on his hips. He can feel his fingers digging into his skin, tightening harder and harder.

 _“Dean,”_ he sighs. “Dean - I can’t. I can’t hold on. Let me touch you,” Cas begs.

“Don’t need to. Gonna come just like this, Cas,” Dean promises. “So fucking close. Stay with me,” he whines.

“Fuck,” Cas groans. “You look so fucking hot. Feel so perfect. Dean - _I can’t -_ I’m... I’m...” He’s so tuned into Castiel’s body that he can feel him tense. “I’m coming! Oh god, Dean! I’m coming, _I’m coming!”_ Castiel chants. Dean can feel Castiel’s cock as it grows impossibly thicker. He feels it when Cas’s cock pulses his release into the condom separating them as Cas buries himself as deeply as possible with a final, powerful thrust.

Dean clenches down around him as tight as he can, causing Cas to jackknife up before he falls back with a long, drawn-out moan. Dean lifts his hips and slams down onto him, once, twice, three times until he can’t hold on anymore either and heat spreads through him like lava. He bows his back as more pleasure than he’s ever felt rockets through him, then he doubles over with a silent shout as his cock twitches and erupts with rope after rope of thick, white cum all over Castiel’s stomach and chest.

Cas catches him as he falls forwards and captures his mouth in a messy and uncoordinated kiss that only prolongs his ecstasy, causing another almost painful dribble of cum to slide down his cock.

He moans brokenly against Cas’s lips before he can’t possibly hold himself up anymore and falls sideways onto the bed. Cas slips out of him as Dean rolls onto his back and tries to catch his breath. He can hear a wet plop and figures Cas has ditched the condom somewhere, but before he can open his eyes to look, Cas is kissing the breath out of him all over again. It starts out passionate and needy, but eases into something lazy and sweet. Cas’s hands sweep over his face lovingly as they trade kiss after kiss, and finally, when he feels like he’s only a second away from slipping into sleep with Cas wrapped around him, Cas kisses across his face and nuzzles into his skin.

“I love you,” Dean whispers.

“Oh Dean,” Cas sighs happily, pulling Dean until he’s lying on Castiel’s chest with his arms wrapped around him. He feels a kiss pressed to the top of his head, and he’s already smiling when Cas says, “I love _you.”_

“So listen. Now that you’ve proved yourself a decent fuck -”

 _“Decent?”_ Castiel repeats incredulously. “You just came so hard you almost jizzed on my neck.”

“Yeah, that was all me though,” Dean teases. “You were just lying there.”

“I was trying to make our first time last!” Castiel laughs.

“I’m more of an instant gratification kinda guy.”

“Well I suppose I have a thing or two to teach you about patience then,” Cas threatens playfully.

“We’ll see about that,” Dean grins. “What I was trying to say before you rudely interrupted me -” He jumps as Cas pokes him in the ribs and wrestles him until he manages to capture his wrist with his fingers. “- is that now that I know you’re an okay roll in the hay and I’m all in love with you and shit, do you wanna be my boyfriend for real?”

“I’ll think about it,” Cas says seriously, but he barely gets it past his lips before they both start laughing, knowing that there’s no way Cas is about to say no.

“I can’t wait to tell everybody at work,” Dean jokes.

Cas snickers and adds, “We should put in ad in the paper." Dean’s snort turns into a booming belly laugh, and neither of them can stop until long after tears are streaming down both their faces.

Dean’s last conscious thought before he falls asleep still naked and sated in a way he hasn’t been in years is that fake dating Cas turned out to be the best stupidest thing they’ve ever done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was SO FUN to write! I hope you enjoyed it!!!


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